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_^^flL
1/5 ^^^ ^i
STIMFORD-VOTVEESITIT-UBRARY
REMAINS
HISTORICAL & LITERARY
CONNECTED WITH THE PALATINE COUNTIES OF
LANCASTER AND CHESTER.
PUBLISHED BY
THE CHETHAM SOCIETY.
VOL. LIU.
PRINTED FOR THE CHETHAM SOCIETY.
M.DCCC.LXI.
6
271024
COUNCIL fob 1860-1.
JAMBS CROSSLEY, Esq., F.8.A., President.
rev. f. r. raines, m.a., f.s.a., hon. canon of manchester,
Vice-President.
WILLIAM BBAMONT.
THE VERY REY. GEORGE HULL BOWERS, D.D., DEAN OF MANCHESTER.
REY. JOHN BOOKER, M.A., F.8.A.
REY. THOMAS CORSER, M.A., F.S.A.
MATTHEW DAWES, F.8.A., F.G.S.
JOHN HARLAND, F.S.A.
EDWARD HAWKINS, F.R.S., F.8.A., F.L.S.
THOMAS HEYWOOD, F.S.A.
W. A. HULTON.
REY. JOHN HOWARD MARSDEN, B.D., CANON OF MANCHESTER,
Disney Professor of Classical Antiquities, Cambridge.
ARTHUR H. HEYWOOD, TREASURER.
WILLIAM LANGTON, Hon. Secretary.
m\k
Mm
M
• u lit
in i \ n r>.
i
MAMECESTEE:
BEING
CHAPTERS FROM THE EARLY RECORDED HISTORY OF
THE BARONY; THE LORDSHIP OR MANOR;
THE VILL, BOROUGH, OR TOWN,
OF
MANCHESTER.
EDITED BY
JOHN HARLAND, F.S.A.
/
VOL. I.
PRINTED FOR THE CHETHAM SOCIETY.
M.DCCC.LXI.
(U
CONTENTS.
Vol. I.
Chapter I. The Place and its Name
Chapter II. Before the Conquest
Chapter III. Norman Times. — Domesday
Chapter IV. The Barony and Manor. The Greslets
Chapter V. Grant of a Yearly Fair
Chapter VI. Thirteenth Century Law-making
Chapter VII. Knights' Fees and Service. Testa de Nevill ...
Chapter VIII. Grant of Free Warren to Thomas Greslet, sixth
Baron
Chapter IX. Proceedings on the Death of Thomas Greslet,
sixth Baron
Chapter X. The Extending or Surveying of Manors
Chapter XI. Proceedings on the Death of Robert Greslet,
seventh Baron
Chapter XII. Lancashire Town Charters
page i
ii
17
32
54
65
87
97
104
127
178
HJ- A -M-T^rf-1-reCimTl-n
To the Reader.
The text of the Charter ', of which the Fron-
tispiece to the prefent Volume is a fac-fimile,
will be printed in Chapter XIII. Vol. II.
The Introduction to the Work is necejfarily
pojlponed till the completion of its fecond and
concluding Volume.
Manchefter^
January -, 1861.
VTfltttl 1410 UUWipiillOU JJbUlUOU AUCIi XXX CtJtUU IASUAAAWW •***> *#«•&»#••* mm*
Briton, the issue was not long doubtful. So when the well-named
Agricola — pioneer no less of the nascent agriculture than of the
infant civilization of Lancashire — cut down the primeval forests
on his line of northward march in that memorable summer of
a.d. 79, he destroyed at one fell swoop hearth and altar, home
B
2 •*-. ••MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. I.
• • •" •
and fane, fort'-incfr stronghold, shelter and ambush, warren and
chace : and left- tlie homeless and desolated Briton either to retreat
to morejfist&nt forest fastnesses, or to rear his rude hut in dreary
isolation* on the bare and shadeless plain — bereft at once of all
that Had theretofore made up his round of life.
'\ JCt has been stated that the Romans usually adopted existing
."•British forts and cities as the sites of their stations ; but this is
true only when those forts or places possessed that local character
which the Roman troops invariably sought, — the presence of
water in spring or stream, and the banks of one or more rivers
to serve as part of the boundary fences of their camps. They
particularly affected the delta or peninsula formed by the bend of
a winding stream, or the neck of land within the fork or con-
fluence of two rivers. Thus while the total destruction of the
woods left no trace of any British fort or city on the site, there
can be no doubt that the point where the Medlock falls into the
Irwell,- near what is still called Castle Field, would be a favourite
spot for the Romans on which to raise their chief castrum ; while
the junction of the Irk with the Irweli at the other extremity of
the Deansgate being a like situation, it is probable they there
placed one of their castra (estiva or summer camps. Though it
has been somewhat positively pronounced by more than one of
our local historians that the Romans erected their Mancunium on
the site of an older British fortress, — for which even a name' has
been found or manufactured, — there seem to us to be no genuine
British remains to authorise the assumption.
What we now name Manchester appears, then, to have no suffi-
ciently authentic origin farther back than the Roman station, which
we know to have been garrisoned by an auxiliary body of troops
to the Twentieth Roman legion, then stationed at Chester, — viz.
the First Cohort (or Regiment) of Friesians, about seven hundred
strong, who, though Romanised, were not strictly Romans. Indeed
the old Friesic tongue is probably the nearest dialect to the early or
Saxon English anywhere to be found. These Friesians not only
garrisoned but colonised the locality. The savage and segregate
Chap. I.] THE PLACE AND IT8 NAME. 3
Britons in the northern parts of England, being scattered by the
military and colonising Romans, found themselves, on the with-
drawal of their conquerors, unable to resist the inroads of the Ficts
and Scots; so they invited over the Saxons, 1 who eventually
routed the northern hordes, conquered their own hosts, and settled
on and spread over the land. By their culture of the soil they
made their social system everywhere practicable ; for every Saxon
" mark" had land enough for the sustenance of its dwellers. The
social bonds of the family and the neighbourship; the mutual
pledge and suretyship for each member of a burh ; the tithing
with its ten men or families, and the wapentake or hundred of
families, — soon peopled the country with bodies of men, gathered
together in folds, worths (streets or rows), hams (heims or homes),
villages, and eventually in market towns. The incursions of the
Scandinavian sea-rovers left a less marked and less extensive,
though perhaps equally enduring, trace of their visitation and
conquests. They kept mainly to the coast, with its river-mouths,
havens and creeks. Hence the area of the " Dane-lagh," except
for the brief reigns of Canute and his two successors, was limited ;
and they were rather the founders of many of our sea-ports than
the rulers of our inland cities. Far otherwise was it with the
Norman chiefs who won their broad acres by fighting under Earl
William's standard at the Battle of Hastings. The care of each
of these feudatory barons was to erect his castle in the midst of
his barony or fee, while around it were speedily grouped not only
his own feudal followers from Normandy, but the Saxon churls
who still clung to the soil. Church and market soon enlarged the
hamlet and village into the manorial town or borough. Such was
the case with Manchester. The Saxons raised considerably the
walls of the Roman fort to protect themselves against the Scots, and
1 Such is the story as told chiefly by Saxon monks and chroniclers. Mr. Kemble
is of opinion, that the Saxon entry into England was not that of an expedition or
two, but a gradual settlement of colony after colony, till at length they outnumbered
the Britons. Whichever story be correct, the Saxons held no rule in Britain till
after the final departure of the Roman legions.
MAMECESTIIE
I i\ I,
made their Manchester about Aldport. The Norman baron, eager
for the chace, selected the neighbourhood of the Roman summer
camp for his abode, and the Baron's Hull or Hill saw a fortified
mansion rise on its soil ; which eventually, with its neighbouring
church and market, fixed Manchester's centre for ages near the
old parish church and market-place, — shifting its locality from
the banks of the Mcdlock to the vicinity of the Irk, The older
town or (A, S.) "port" then took the name of Aid-port. Terri-
torially, old Manchester was in the Roman consular province
of Maxima Ca-saricnsis, and at the south-western border of the
Saxon kingdom of Northumbria; being only a few miles north of
the Mersey, the northern boundary of the kingdom of Mercia,
which included Cheshire.
From these considerations of the localities, about a mile apart,
— successively the Roman station and colony, the Saxon borough or
town, and the Norman vill, manor and chief seat of the Barony, —
let us turn to review briefly what is known of its ancient name
or names. An original local name is, in all probability, the earliest
literal record of the existence of the place itself. All original
names have a twofold value, — first, in their significance, as indi-
cating some local peculiarity of situation, surface or ownership, —
as llultou or Hilton, the Hill town, or town on the hill ; Oldham,
the old hamlet ; Urmston, Ormes town, or Ormc-East-town, But
this significance is of course ouly shown in the language of the
people giving the name ; and therefore the name is, secondly , an
indication of the nation or tribe of the original dwellers. But in
the case of Manchester its original British name, if it ever had
one, has been lost ; and that of Mancenion % asserted so broadly by
the Rev. John Whitaker, the first historian of Manchester, was
wholly unknown to Leland and to Camden, the earliest anti-
quarian writers who refer to its name. Whitaker's sole authority, —
the Glossarium Anttqmiatum Britlaniarum of William Baxter, —
does not bear out his assertions, and gives no earlier authority for
the name ; so that we cannot claim for the supposed name " Man-
cenion" a greater antiquity than the beginning of the eighteenth
Chap. I] THE PLACE AND ITS NAME. 5
century, the date of Baxter's learned but fanciful work. Baxter
renders Man-cenion, " a place of skins or tents, i.e. a camp." But
the Rev. John Davies, a recent writer with Celtic preferences,
in his interesting Essay on The Races of Lancashire, declares that
Baxter's secondary meaning of " Cenion," tents, is pure conjec-
ture, and that it is scarcely possible to determine more than that
the name is Celtic.
It was Baxter's boast that he had discovered and restored the
names of many British cities and towns. As he gives no earlier
authority, it is not unreasonable to suppose that (on the assump-
tion of most Roman stations being named after pre-existing British
forts, &c.) his procedure was to select from the Itineraries and
Notitia a number of the names of Roman stations in Britain, and
then, from their orthography and sound alone, to fit them to one
or more Welsh words of somewhat similar form and sound. But
it might have been expected from a man of his learning, that he
would only have taken the radical portions of the Roman names,
and have wholly disregarded a common terminal syllable, such as
-t*m. The Romans had their oppid-um, their municipi-um, their
castr-um, and so in Lancashire some of their castra were named
Cocci-um, Veratin-um, Coluni-um, and Mamuci-um or Mancuni~um.
In resolving what he supposed to be Roman approximations to the
old Celtic names of places, why has Baxter taken this constant
terminal -«m into the account ? Thus strained, he manufactures a
seemingly British name for Manchester, by putting together Man
and cenion from Man and cunium! 1 But of course this ideal name
falls to the ground at once, if the real Roman name was not Man-
cunium, but Manutium or Mamucium. Such are the vagaries into
which a linguistic hobby may lead a scholar. John Whitaker, who
3 Compare this with what we know of the Roman station at Wroxeter, near
Shrewsbury. The hill in the immediate neighbourhood still bears the British name
of the Wrekin, from which was probably constructed the Roman name of Uriconium;
but here the terminal -turn has no correlative sound in the British name ; the latin-
ising of which would be Uricon- y the -ium being added as required by the genius of
the Latin tongue and by Roman euphony.
6
MAMECESTRE.
[Chap, I.
also had a strong Celtic bias, eagerly accepted Baxter's unauthor-
ised etymology, and so perpetuated the figment as an established
fact.
In the absence of all proof of "Mancenion" being an ancient
name of the place, we need not further speculate on its so-called
British name. Its Roman one, though it rests on better autho*
is by no means clearly ascertained. The place is not once
named by Caesar or Tacitus, by the anonymous Geographer
of Ravenna, by Ptolemy the Geographer, or in the Pcutingcr
Table. 3 It occurs only in the Itinera of Antoninus and in those of
the monk Richard of Cirencester. But of these two authorities
the value is widely different. The great Itinerary of the Roman
Empire, which goes under the name of the Emperor Antoninus
Augustus, is supposed to have been compiled about a.d. 320: the
most accurate edition is that of Wesseliug. On the other hand it
is difficult to say how much of the description of Britain attri-
buted to Richard of Cirencester was really the work of a monk of
Westminster; and how much of it we owe to the modern author,
Bertram of Copenhagen, who states that he found the MS. This
MS. has very strangely disappeared, — a circumstance which must
cast suspicion on the so-called Itinerary of Richard. The varia-
tions of different MSS. as to the Roman name of Manchester may
be grouped in three couples: Maucuuium or Mancocunium;
Manucium or Manufcium ; and Mamucium or Mamutium. That
all three groups relate to a place in Lancashire is clear from the
geographical position each holds in the fthara in reference to
Coccium, Cambodunum and Cnudatc, wherever the disputed sites
of these places may be. Wcsscliug's edition of Antonine's
Itinerary gives "Mancunium" in the 10M Iter and "Mamucium* 1
in the aftd Iter. "Manucium" occurs in the 2nd Iter in a MS.
of less reputation than that adopted by Wesseling. Richard has
H Maucunium" in his 6th Iter and his 10th Iter; but both may
* The city of Mautio in the Nodtio (folloired by those of Alunne, Oamulodono
find Cahmio), has by soma boon tuppoied to be an other Roman name for Man-
Chap. I] THE PLACE AND ITS NAME. 7
have been copied from the older Itinera of Antonine. The best
authority, then, reduces the names to two forms — Man-cunium
and Mam-ucium. Now it is from the former that Celtic writers
have constructed or adopted the supposed British name of Man-
cenion, on the ground that where the Romans found a place with
an existing British name, they merely latinised that name. Of
this practice there is doubtless abundant proof. But how, if the
Roman name were really Mamucium? What becomes in that
case of man a place, and cenion skins ? Mam, mam-mog, is in
Welsh (vide Lhuyd, &c.) " mother " and it has the same meaning
in Gaelic as in Cambrian tongues. In Ireland several high moun-
tains have the prefix Mam- as Mam Turk and Mam Trassna, both
in Galway. In Derbyshire is Mam Tor; and other instances
might be cited. As it is not clear, then, from the Itinera whether
the Roman name had Mam- or Man- for its first syllable, we may
seek further evidence in the name preserved by the successors of
the Romans.
The Saxons and Angles in many instances merely Teutonised
the Roman names of places, retaining the radical portion of
the word, and adding to it " ceaster" as their form of the Latin
"castrum" a camp or fortified place. What, then, was the
Saxon name for Manchester? In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
and in the oldest MS. copy of it known, we are told that in the
year 923 King Edward (son and successor of Alfred) sent, from
Thelwall near Warrington, a body of Mercian soldiers to take
possession of " Mame-ceaster in North-humbria, and to repair and
man it." This old MS. (in Corpus Christi College, Cambridge)
Mr. Petrie considered the best basis for his reprint of the Chronicle
in the Monumenta Historica Britannica. In collating it for
publication with seven other MSS., Mr. Petrie found in one of
them (the Cottonian MS. Otho, b. xi. 2) a variation in the name,
which is therein spelled " Manige-ceaster." This MS. he regarded
as of less authority than the former ; and it is further observable
that the Cambridge MS. is written mostly in the dialect of
Mercia; the Cottonian MS. is of West-Saxon origin. This may
8
MAMECESTRK.
[0*4*. I.
explain the different form of the name, and as Manchester was on
the confines of Mercia, the Mercian form is likely to be the most
correct. May not Manige, however, be a Saxon corruption of the
British Mammog ? On the other hand Manige in Anglo-Saxon has
for primary meaning " Many/' its secondary sense being "Much.''
Its Saxon significant name may therefore have been Much-Castle,
or the Fort of Many. From these speculations, however, we
return to the oldest authority, which gives " Mame-ceastcr/'
prevents the etymologist from ignoring the M form of the first
syllable. And we cannot exclude the overwhelming weight of the
documentary evidence* which proves that if the place ever bore
the name of Manige- ceaster, it soon lost it, and that its written
form (however pronounced) was u Manic* ccst re" from Saxon and
Norman times even to the end of the fifteenth century* A few
instances might be found in which the word was written, or w
supposed to be written, Main-centre ; but these are so rare if real,
and altogether so doubtful, that we have no hesitation in using the
form of " Mamecestre" as the name of the town, manor and
barony during the greater part of its existence. Any British or
Celtic name for Manchester could only extend to about a.d. 80,
when the Roman rule being established here by Agricola, the
Roman name would be substituted. This might probably endure
for three hundred and sixty years or more, till supplanted by the
Saxon name about the middle of the fifth century ; and this name
of Mame-ceaster or its more Norman form of Mame-ceetrc,
appears to have retained its hold for more than a thousand years.
The last mutation, giving u Manchester" 4 the modern form of
4 It may be asked how Mame* t so long in use, became changed into Man-* Wo
imlino to thick that it was the solution of a euphonic difficulty, combined with the
universal tendency in speech to clip or shorten long words. The difficulty is that
of pronouncing Ihe m immediately before eh — Mamch ; which any oue who tries will
at once experience. The getting rid of one or more syllables in a name, turning
B right heimsto no into Brighton, Uttoxeter into Uxeter, Cholmondeley into Chum ley,
and Maj ori banks into Marchbanks, has made, in the vulgar pronunciation of Man-
chester, a word of two syllables only, as Manck'ter, like Lei's ter, Glo'ster, Wor'stcr,
Chap. I.] THE PLACE AND ITS NAME. 9
name it still bears, is of not more than four centuries' duration.
Enough has been urged to refute the notion of the ancient name
being Mancenion; to suggest as to its first syllable at least an
equal claim to consideration for the form "Mam" with "Man"
or "Maeri" (which latter, meaning stone or rock, was Camden's
supposition) ; and enough to justify the form preferred for the title
of this work, as agreeing with almost every document now printed
in its pages.
The latter part of this compound word, Mam- or Manchester,
will give little trouble. It is the Saxon form (ceaster) of the
Roman Castrum, a fortified military station or camp ; the c being
pronounced ch, as in ceorl, pronounced churl, and Ceadde, i.e.
Chad, a Saxon saint. The various forms which this common ter-
mination (always denoting the site of a Roman station) assumes,
must not tempt us aside from our particular subject. Yet we
find its form of pronunciation vary in different parts of England.
Exancestre has become Exeter ; while in some instances the same,
or a similar local name, has different forms in different localities,
as in Lancaster in this county, and Lanchester in Durham; in
Manchester itself, and Mancester or Manceter in Warwickshire.
One thing seems probable, that, over a considerable part of the
northern counties the harder form of caster prevails. Thus we
have Tadcaster and Doncaster in Yorkshire, and Lancaster in the
north of this county ; which is softened into Chester south of the
Ribble, as Ribchester, Manchester. Can it be that the Scandina-
vians have left the impress of their presence in the harder sound ?
But we must quit the subject.
While denying the authenticity of any extant British name for
Manchester, it must not be supposed that the existence of Britons
or Celts in the locality is called in question. They have written
the indelible evidence of their ancient possession of the district in
the names of its rivers and streams. Of the three rivers or larger
streams which water Manchester, the Rev. John Davies thus
writes : — The Irwbll, from Ir (Welsh), fresh, vigorous; and
Gwili (Welsh), a name for river, as the Gwili in Carmarthenshire ;
c
l6 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. I.
properly that which turns or winds, — a winding stream. 5 In
composition, "gwili" loses the initial G. The Irk, from Iwrch
(Welsh), the roebuck, probably from bounding along a hill course.
Idhuyd, in his Adversaria, says there were many streams so called
in Wales. The Medlock, from Med (Welsh), complete, full;
and llwch (Gael. loch), lake or pool. As to the smaller streams,
the Cornbrook is from Cor (Welsh), narrow, and aun (Welsh),
a contraction of avon, a river ; i.e. cor-aun, the narrow stream.
Whitaker says that the Tib is the same with Teivi, Tavy, Towey,
Tav, Dove, Dee, &c., meaning simply the water or stream.
• An Anglo-Saxon etymology has been suggested for this river, viz., 12re-weU,
the " hoar or white spring." But it is more in consonance with probability that the
three chief streams of Manchester should have names in the same language. The
suggestion of a wag, that for Irk we should read Ink, will scarcely be endorsed by the
antiquary, who knows that in the olden time it was a fair, clear trout stream ; and
that even the existence on its banks of the Walke- or fulling-mill in the Walkers' Croft
(near its confluence with the Irwell), by the discharge of its unctuous refuse into the
river, only served to fatten and make more dainty and luscious the eels so highly
relished at the table of the Warden and Fellows !
11
CHAPTER II.
BEFOEE THE CONQUEST.
From what has been already said respecting the supposed British
appellation and the Roman and Saxon names of Manchester, it
will be obvious that the recorded evidence of the place's existence
prior to the Conquest is somewhat slight. For instance, though
there are ample proofs that here was a Roman Castrum, and even
inscribed stones are not wanting to tell us that in all probability
the garrison consisted mainly for a long period of the First Cohort
of Friesians, being an auxiliary body to the Twentieth Legion
" Valiant and Victorious/' which so long occupied Chester, — still
no stone has been found with any Roman form of the name of
Manchester upon it. This fact must exclude all these interesting
relics of the Roman rule amongst us from further notice in the
present work. Coming down, then, to later times under Saxon or
Anglian rule, we find Mamecestre twice named. 6 The first time
in chronological order occurs in an old Welsh Chronicle, which is
repeated in the apocryphal rhyming story of a monk of a much
later age. Humphrey Llhuyd thus quotes, as is supposed, this
old Welsh Chronicle : —
About a.d. 689 Ivor and Henyr, sons of the daughter of Cadwallader,
• In Barnes's Lancashire (70L ii. p. 167) is a passage stating that " in AJ>. 620
Edwin, King of Northumbria, crossing the ridge of mountains which forms the boun-
dary of Yorkshire and Lancashire, entered the parish of Manchester, and permanently
reduced the town under the dominion of the Saxons." For this statement, the
authority quoted is "Nennius, p. 117." But the pages of this chronicler have been
searched in Tain ; nor can any such statement be found in Bede, who most largely
chronicles the events in the life of this king. No such fact appears in the Saxon
Chronicle, and we can only give the statement as we find it, without attaching any
importance to it.
12
MAMECESTRE.
LCuap. 11
Kti said to tare landed Bx»n Ireland, and, with tli«- iMUl
Idngi of "Wales, t»> hftTe waited the province of Cheater, and to fa
demanded <fc t" tlie Saxon kings the countries from which the\ had WTC
fully expelled their parents; but they experienced two noguj)
defeats from the Saxons, commanded by Ina, King of Wessex. A
this (adds the chronicle quoted by Llliuyd) Ina departed himself, with
Aiklard his eouseiL to Queen Ethelberga, being then at Mameces:
and [both] continued there almost three moneths. — (Ormerod'a
Ch<shin\ voL L Iiitrod. p. xxv.)
In the Rhyming Chronicle of Robert Mannyng (often called
Robert de Brunne, from his holding a canonry in the Priory of
Black Canons at Brunne or Bourne, in Lincolnshire), produced
about 1300, and apparently a paraphrase from a French Chronicle
written by Peter Langtoft, a monk of Bridlington, Yorkshire, who
lived not long before Mannyng, — we have the following 1
version of the facts already cited by Humphrey Llhnyd : —
The Englis kyngea turned 1 fai mot do nomore,
Bot soioroed fam a while in rest a Ban go re,
-fat ilk a Kyng of renmc eud mak him all redie
At fa Faske afto fa Kyng 1 110 gart trio
Home for to wend to child £ to wife
To yisite ther londes, to solace far life.
Ine, Kyng of West sex, for his wife sent
Unto Malmcestre j fa quone till him wont.
In modern English —
The English kings turned ; they could do no more
But sojourned them awhile, in rest, at Bangor ;
So that each King of realm should make him all ready.
At the Easter, after King Ina would tarry,
Homeward to go, to child and to w \
To Tisit their lands and solace their life.
Inn, King of Wesaex, for his wife sent
Unto ftlaniecestre : the Queen to him went.
Of this story no corroboration is afforded by the Anglo- Saxon
Chronicle, which, however, has but a few meagre notices of Ina.
It is useless speculating on these old rhyming chronicles, which
are full of fabulous stories. We are content to print the passage,
n j
ORB THE CONQUEST
19
wb&dh must be taken for what it is worth. On better authority,
re record of a later event, — the rebuilding and
fortifying of Mamccestre, about a century and a half before the
Norman Conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, in the Monn-
tta Historica Britanmcu, is printed [to a.d, 95,5] from an
ancient MS., the oldest known, in Corpus Christi College, Cam-
bridge, having been carefully collated with six other MSS.
(marked B to G) and the variations duly noted. The following is
the passage in the original, with the notes marking the various
readings of the several MSS. At that period the year commenced
on Christmas Day : —
TViu DCCCC.XXIII, — »Dep on w J»yrum £eape j-jp Cahpeapb cyntiig mih ^pepbe.
on upm httprejT. to "Delpcle* anb net $erypcan J* 8 ^"rfc" anb grrertan anb
gemannian* anb het otSpe •pefib' eac or ^CDiepcna >eobe* >a bjnle he he t»asjt feet,
gep&pan ^CCome-cearreji on "Nopft-faymbjimn* anb hie sebetan anb semaniuan/
*7[D<?p poptJjepbe Plegeuiunb apcvbij-ceoji. ^Dep Keynote •cyninR *°j;e|mn 4> t'orop-
|uc] — {Momtm. Hist. Brit. p. 3S1 .)
[NOTBS TO THE ABOVE.]
39 not in B. C. B, E. F. w Hrruni Ch » r> jibe G. 3I Dselfaele G. * buph G.
pb& *00ypcnaG, ** CDamye- G. * Nojitt-hfmbpan Gk V [Inserted in A.]
■ B. E. F. * rynt; E. fttng F. *' Sepaiin F. 41 Corepjne E. euonric F.
..23. In this year, after harvest, King Edward went with his
forces to Thelwall, and commanded the burh to be built, and occupied,
manned ; and commanded another force, also of Mercians, the while
that Ik* Bate there, to take possession of Manchester in North-faumbria,
and repair and man it. This year died Arehhishop Plegemund. This
■Ljnold won Tork.— (Momtm. Hist. Brit. p. 381.)
r went King Edward with an army late in the harvest
to Thelwall, and ordered the borough to be repaired and inhabited and
BMffmed. And he ordered another army, also from the population of
i-ia, the while he sat there, to go to Manchester, in Northurabria,
:r and to man it. — (Barnes's Lancashire, vol. 1. p. 52)/
7 Florence of Worcester states that in the Autumn season of the year 910, the moat
uar&nquidhcd King Edward proceeded to Thelwall, and there built a city, and for iU
protection left certain of the bravest of his army. He sent also a force of Mercians
into Northumberland; that they might restore the city of Ma^neceaster^ and place
14
MAMECEBTRE.
[Ciup. II.
A second translation has been given, because the different terms
chosen may make the facts more clear. On the whole preferring
the translation in the Monument a, that in Baines appears more
verbally correct in one place, The Saxon "on ufan liEerfest*' u
literally "in late harvest/' and not "after harvest/* The king
who thus restored Mameeestre, after its destruction by the Das
was Edward the Elder, the son of the great Alfred, and the
brother of iEfcbelflcda, " Lady of the Mercians," on whose death
in 922 (about a year before his repairs of Thelwall and Mame-
cestre) all the inhabitants of Herein, both Danish and English,
submitted to Edward. These two "worthy scions of a worthy
sire" were the greatest builders and fortifiers of their age.
The long rule of the Saxons left an impress on the peoph
the places of their occupations, which far surpassed that of the
Romans in Britain. The Normans, while they seized the chief
places of honour and profit, and to a very great extent monopo-
lised the manors, failed to suppress the laws or the language of
their Saxon subjects. The laws of Ina or Ine, with those of Alfred
and other Saxon lawgivers, were maintained, with but slight modi-
fications, for centuries after the Conquest ; and to these old Saxon
laws we must still look if we would trace the true source of much
of our common law. While the Britons gave permanent names
to our mountains and rivers, our hills and streams, the Saxons
gave a significant and characteristic appellation to every city and
town, vill and hamlet, fold and homestead, to every wood and
plain, field and meadow, and indeed to most of the smaller
streams — the brooks and rivulets. If we examine the terminal
syllables of local names in and around the manor, and within the
old parish of Manchester, we find them nearly all Saxon. Ton,
from the Anglo-Saxon tun, is perhaps the most common; there
brare soldiers therein. Simeon of Durham, who in thi* part of his Chronicle chiefly
follows Florence of Worcester, says that Edward repaired Mameceatter beyond the
river of Mercia [tbo Mersey ]» accounted as then in the south end of Northumberland,
and he built a town, of ancient writers culled Thilwal), near to the same rirer of
Mercia, and placed therein a garrison of soldiers.
Chap 11 J
BEFORE THE CONQUEST.
15
being two Chorltons (the cheorFa town or dwelling), Withington,
Pendleton, Barton, Swinton, Maunton or Monton, Winton, Burgh-
ton or Broughton, Moston, Foxdenton, three lleatons, Newton,
Middleton, Pilkington, Castleton, Gorton, Denton, Chaderton,
Clifton, Houghton and Westhoughton, three Heltons, &c. Of
bury, from the Anglo-Saxon bttrh or by riff, are Bury, Didsbury,
and Pendlebury. Of wick, from the Anglo-Saxon wic, a village,
are Atherswick now Ardwick, Gotherswick, {? Bexwick or Bes-
wick,) &c. Prestwich is only a softer form of this termination.
Of ham, i,e. hamlet, are Cheetham, Oldhara, Irwellhaiu now
Irlam's, Kcced-ham now Rochdale. Of holme or hufme, a low
flat, we have two Hulmes, Rusholme, Kirknianshulme, and
Levenshulme. Of ley, a pasture, are Workedlcy now Wors-
ley, Blakeley, &c. Of hey, a cleared inclosure, Harpers- now
Harpurhey, Grecnheys, &e. Of worth, a street, row, or village
of one row or street, Failsworth, Buttcrworth, &c. Of ford, a
passage over a river bed, we have Salford, Trafford, Stretford,
Longford, and Bradford. Of salle or safe, a hall or mansion, are
Sale (Cheshire), Ordsal, Kersal, Curmesale now Crumpsall, perhaps
Salford, &c. Of shaw, a small wood, are Audenshaw, Gpenshawj
Of dene, a valley, arc Drylsdene now Droylsdcn, Deane
near Bolton, and as a prefix Denton, Fox Denton, &c. Of edge,
Bruncdge and Edgccroft, now Burnage ami Agecroft. The few
local names that do not come into these lists (which might be
much extended) are mostly of Saxon character. Of such are
Ancotes, Redditch now Reddish, Radeliffe, Whitfield, Whitacres,
ley wood, &c. Several personal names of Saxon origin lie con-
cealed in these local names. Thus of the two forms of Ceadde and
Cedde (pronounced Chad and Ched), wc have Chat Moss, Chad-
derton, Chadkirk, and perhaps Cheetham and Cheetwood. Ather's-
wick, DiddeV or DitteVbury, DryleVden, Bex- or BeckVwick,
( iothers'-wick, Pilking-ton, LcvenVhulmc, AldwynVshaw (Auden-
shaw), Ord's or Worde's-sal, GrnVs-ost-ton (Urmston), Curme's-
sale (Crumps all), are instances in the immediate neighbourhood,
mall streams, siket or ditches, riudlcs or rivulets, brooks,
16
M.AMECE6TRE
[Cb
&c., — it may suffice to uamc the Red or Reedy ditch (Red-dish),
the Moss-ditch, the Gore-brook, Criugle-brook, Slade-brook, the
Ilartwcll-sike, the Grise-brook, Bradley-brook, the Muchel- or
Mickle-ditch, &c, As to Saxon names for varieties of laud surface
and division, natural and artificial, the map of Lancashire, and
especially that of the hundred of Salford, abounds with hulls, iov
brows, shaws, holts, halghes, felds, meads, crofts, dough-
I, furlongs, rigs (ridges), falls, intakes, doles, laches or lead
&c. In this indelible mode have the Saxons stamped upon the
face of the laud, and upon the speech, habits, and manners of the
people, the broad characteristics of that old Teutonic race which
now holds a dominion wider than any other in the world's history.
To dwell on these broad unwritten records would lead us from our
stricter limits, and we must therefore pass to the next "lit
scripta," exhibiting the condition of Manchester in Saxon times;
and that is to be found in the Norman survey of the kingdom
named the Domesday Boc, so far as it records anything winch
existed in the time of Edward the Confessor, who reigned from
June 10^1 to the 5th January 1066, and who was regarded by the
Conqueror as the last Saxon King of England; Harold, who only
held the crown nine months, being by the Normans deemed a
usurper. But as this survey is in fact a Norman document, it
will be more convenient to treat of both its Saxon and its Norman
periods under the same head. Substantially, however, the only
part of the hundred of Salford that was held in his own hand by
King Edward the Confessor was Iladclifle; but he was the supe-
rior lord of all the immediate occupants of land within the
hundred.
17
CHAPTER III.
NOEMAN TIMES. — DOMESDAY.
The Norman Survey of England, as embodied in the Domesday
Book, is the first record relating to the hundred or wapentake of
Salford, which hundred includes in its soil the manor and the
greater part of the barony of Manchester. The "Dom-boc"
includes some particulars as to the hundred in the time of King
Edward the Confessor, who reigned from a.d. 1041 to the £th
January 1066 ; as well as the state of the hundred at the time of
the Norman Survey, 1080-1086; and it may be well to explain
the circumstances under which this great survey and valuation of
the lands of England was made. The Saxon Chronicle tells us
that
After the Synod, held in London in a.d. 1075, "the king [William
I.] held a large meeting and very deep consultation with the council,
about this land ; how it was occupied, and by what sort of men. Then
sent he his men over all England into each shire ; commissioning them
to find out — How many hundreds of hides were in the shire, what
lands the king himself had, and what stock upon the land ; or what
dues he ought to have by the year from the shire. Also they were to
record in writing how much land his archbishops had, and his diocesan
bishops, and his abbots, and his earls ; what or how each man had, who
was an occupier in England, either in land or stock, and how much
money it was worth. So very narrowly, indeed, did he commission
them to trace it out, that there was not one single hide, nor a yard of
land ; nay, moreover, — (it is shameftd to tell, though he thought it no
shame to do it) — not even an ox, nor a cow, nor a swine, was there
left, that was not set down in his writ. And all the recorded particulars
were afterwards brought to him."
Kelham, in his Domesday Book Illustrated, states that the incom-
D
18
MAMECE3TRE.
tCOAP. III.
parable record of Domesday was begun, by order of William the
Conqueror, in the year 1080 and of bis reign the thirteenth (accord-
ing to the Red Book of the Exchequer) and completed (according
to an entry at the end of the second volume of the Survey) in the
year 1086, and the twentieth of his reign. Commissioners, gene-
rally Normans of rank and learning, were sent into every county,
aud juries summoned and impanneiled in each hundred, out of all
orders of freemen, from barons down to the lowest farmers, to
in upon oath to the commissioners, by verdict or present-
ment, due information, for the faithful and impartial execution
of it,
The order generally observed in writing the survey is to set
down in the first place at the head of every county the king's
name, "Hex Williclmus/' and then a list of the bishops, religious
houses, churches, and great men, according to their r;mk, that
held of the king in capite, in that county ; likewise of his thanes,
ministers and servants. In some counties the cities and capital
boroughs are taken notice of before the list of the great tenants is
entered, with the particular laws or customs which prevailed in
each of them ; and in others they are inserted promiscuously.
After the lists of the tenants, the manors and possessions them-
selves which belong to the king, and also to each owner throughout
the whole county, whether they lie in the same or different hun-
dreds, are collected together, and minutely noted, with their
under-tenants. The king's demesnes, under the title M Terra
Regis," always stand first, as "Ilex Willelmus tenet [or, habct]"
&c. Then the lands which belong to some bishop, religious house
or great lord, as "Terra Arehiepi," &e.
The description is generally in the form of a series of answers
to the following questions : — How many hides, or carucates, the
laud is gelded, or taxed at ? Whose it was in the time of King
Edward [the Confessor, 1041-1066] ? Who is the present owner,
and who arc the sub-tenants? What and how much arable land,
meadow, pasture and wood is there? How much in demesne,
how much in tenancy, and what number of ploughs will it ke<
Chap. III.)
NORMAN TIMES DOMESDAY*
19
What mills and fisheries ; how many freemen, socmen, eo-liberti,
cotarii, bordtrii, radmaaui, radchenistrcs, villaui, maid-servants
; bondmen 8 are there? What churches are there, and how
Kim prieata or parsons? What customary rents, presentations
id services arc to be paid and rendered out of the lands ? What
has been added to the manor, what withheld from it, and by
whom? What land is waste? What was the whole let for in the
time of King Edward ? What is the net rent, whether it is rented
too high, or whether it may be improved?
The whole number of tenants in capite (besides bishops, abbots,
priors and churchmen, and the king's thanes, eleemosynaries,
ministers and servants) who held all the lands in England of the
Conqueror, was about four hundred and twenty; and all others
that had any estates, held of the great tenants by mesne tenure ;
each of these had a few socmen and an infinite number of
TVtfMMfl or freeholders were those who held by free or military tenure, as distin-
guished from those who held by base or servile tenure. Socmen (from Soca t a soke,
privilege, Liberty or immunity} the occupiers of hnds free from certain named services
nod other burdens. The Drenches orDreuges held their lands (manors or berewicks)
by free soccage, or in Anglo-Norman u frank -ferine/' the services of whhh were not
only certain, but honourable, Co-Iiberti were tenants in aoccsgc, and particularly
such villeins as were manumitted or made freemen. They were of middle condition,
between freemen and servants, Cotarii or cottagers were the customary tenants of
cottages, &.*. small houses, without any laud belonging to them, held in bondage by
the will of the court or manor. They were usually native, or horn serfs. Among
other service* they had to mow the lord's meadow, to bring fuel and building timber
to the lord's ball or mansion house j to plough, harrow and reap the lord's corn,
and bring it to his barn, &o. Bordarii or bordars were a similar class of small,
mary, unfree, cottage tenants \ bound to supply the lord with poultry and
iggs, and other small provisions for his board or entertainment. Radmanni and
Badckenisire*, i.e. radmans and mdknights (a kind of socmen, but some less free
than others) were feudal vassals, attendant on the lord as his guard; their more
rn name being Retainers, Villani r villeins, were so called from villa a country
farm, whereat tliev were dependent to do service. They were unfree, registered as of
oil, and hound to till the lord's lands; holding by the base tenure called villcn-
age. So servile wa» their condition that they were usually sold and transferred with
the farm to which they belonged. Maid-servants, bondwomen, or neifs (Fr, naif,
i.e. nativa), were also among the natim t or born serfs. Bondmeu, bondi, were those
who entered serfhood by a bond of agreement ; or bound themselves to serve, by
covenant.
20
MAMECESTRE.
III.
men of slavish condition, called servi, villani, bordarii and cot
[serfs, villeins^ bordars and cottagers], under them*
In the Domesday Survey the name of Lancashire does not once
occur ; but what is now known as South Lancashire, includiug
however Leyland and Blackburn, is surveyed under Cheshire, by
the title of "Inter Ripam et Mcrsha/ 1 that is, "Lands bctw
Kibble and Mersey." The northern part of the county (Amoun-
derness, and Lonsdale north and south) is comprehended in the
survey of Yorkshire. For the purposes of the present work it will
suffice to copy from the printed version of Domesday (with one
slight addition), that portion only which relates to the hundred of
Salford. 9 We may premise, however, that at the beginning of the
South Lancashire record, in place of a list of tenants under the
king in capite, is an entry of which the following is a translation :
" King William holds all that land between the Kibble and Mersey
which Roger of Poictou held." In other words, William the Con-
queror, at the time of the survey, held all the lands in South
Lancashire, previously granted by himself to Roger of Poictou. 10
Kex . E . tenuit Saifoud . Ibi . in . hidae. In SalFORD HYXl>.
7 xii , caruc . trse Waste . 7 Foresta . 111 ■ leuu lg . 7 tntd: lat.
* It is remarkable that of the »U hundreds into which Lancashire south of the
Ribble was divided at the time of the Domesday Survey, Salford is perhaps the
only one which retains its ancient area unchanged ; those of Newton and Warrington
being absorbed into West Derby, and those of Leyland and Blackburn undergoing
some change.
10 Roger do Poictou was the third aon of Roger de Montgomery, Earl of Arundel
and Shrewsbury (who led the centre at the famous battle of Hastings), and was to
called because he married a Poictcvin lady, Almodea, Countess de la Marche. He is
said to have possessed three hundred and ninety-eight manors j but he lost much of
his Lancashire possessions by his defection from the king before the compilation of
Domesday. The honour of Lancaster was restored to him in the reign of William
IL 1 but having rebelled against Henry I., and taken part with the king's brother
Robert Duke of Normandy, he was deprived of all his estates, and banished in not.
From that time the honour of Lancaster remained in the Crown till it was bestowed
on Randle surnamed de Brieasard and also de Meschines, third Earl of Chester.
Chap. III.] NORMAN TIMES. — DOMESDAY. 21
7 ibi plures haiae 7 aira accipitris. [ad Salford.
Radecliue teneb rex . E . p 5B . Ibi . 1 . hida . 7 alia hid ptineii
iEccia S* marie . 7 aeccia S' Michael teneb iu Mamecestre.
una caruc trae . q*eta ab omi csuetud pt geld.
Ad hoc 53 uel HVND ptineb . xxi . bereuuich . teneb
totid taini p totid Maner . In quib} era# . xi . hidae 7 dimid.
7 x . caruc trae 7 dimid. •
H h h h h
Siluae ibi . ix . leuu 7 dim lg . 7 v . leuu 7 una qrent lat.
Vn9 eoa Gamel tenen' . 11 . hid in Recedha . habeb suas csue
tudines q ! etas . pter . vi . has . Furtu . Heinfare . Forestel.
Pace) infracta . tminu fractu apposito stabilitu . pugna
post sacramtu factu remanents . H emdab . xl /solid.
Aliquae haru traru eraiv q^etae ab omi csuetud pt geld.
7 aliqtae a geldo sutf q ! etse.
To? 5B Salford cu HVND reddeb . xxx.vn . lib 7 mi . sol.
Modo sunt in 55 in dnio . 11 . car . 7 viii . serui .711. uitt cu . 1 . car.
Valet . c . solid hoc diiium.
Dh _ h .. . *
e hac tra huj9 CD ten milites dono Rogenj pictau.
h h 9 h h
Nigellus . in . hid . 7 dimid caruc trae . Warin . 11 . car . trae.
7 alt Warin? . 1 . caruc 7 dimid . Goisfrid* . 1 . caruc trae . Gamel
.11 . car trae . In his sunt . in . taini . 7 xxx . uitti 7 pbr 7 x.
_ h
serui . Int oms hnt . xxii . car . Valet . vn . lib.
In Lailand hvnd.
Hoes huj9 53 7 de Salford n opabant p csuetud ad aula regis.
neq > metebatf in Augusto . Tantm . 1 . haia in silua facieb.
7 habeb sanguinis forisfactura . 7 feminae passae uiolent.
De alijs csuetudinib} alio^ supio^ Manerio^ era/* csortes.
22
MAMECESTRE.
fCiiai-. III.
[a Salfoju* Hi m>iuji.
K i t i g E 1 1 if I n I [ the C onfessor] held Salford. There [ are ] th ree h ides. 11
Ami twelve carves 1 - of land waste. And fonsl three miles long, and
same broad. And there L are] many hays 13 ami an a&J of hawka.
King Edward held Radeeliue (Eadclitle) fur a manor. There [is
hide, and anot her hide belonging to Salford.
< hurrh of St. Mary and the ehureh of St. Michael held in W
cestre om ! lamb free from all customs *a\e [: 'Dane] geld. 14
To thin manor or hundred [of Salford] there belonged
berewicks u which were held by as many thanes, for [or as] so li..
manors. In which there were eleven hides and a half, and ten carves
and a half of land. The woods there are nine miles and a half long and
live miles and one quarenten [fijrlong] broad.
One of these [thanes] Gamel, holding two hides in Keeedham fRorh-
dale), had them free from all customs 1 * 5 save these six: Theft, Heinfiu
Forestel, 1 * Breach of the king's peace. Destroying [or removing] a
11 There is a studied brevity in the compilation of this record of surrey. As it
notices the state of the land at too distinct periods — one in Saxon, the other in
Norman times — it might be expected that the difference would always be marked by
the tensee of the verbs used j but in mnivy plnees the verb is altogether omitted j and
the verbs placed lq brackets are only inserted on supposition — it or was, are or were,
being left to conjecture,
w We prefer Ibis really English name to the Latin carucate. Both
"plough "land,"
w Hays, P Deer-stands ; railed or hedged inclosures in the forest,
14 The Dane-geld was a tux originating out of the practice of buying off thoDanii
invaders by largo sums of inoinv. It was first of one Saxon shilling, afterwards <
2S, (as at the time of tlie survey) laid upon every hide of laud in the kingdom. Ex-
clusive of bouses in towns (which were also rated) there were 543,600 hides of ambit
land in the kingdom ; so that the tax would amount at as. the hide to 24,360/. Saxon
Pnno-geld was first levied about the year 991, and continued for its original purpose
till the reign of Edward the Confessor 1 but in course of time, as in the Conqueror's
reign, it seems to hare been applied to the private purposes of the monarch,
lfi Bcrewicks were villages or hamlets belonging to a manor, of which sometime
mesne manors wore made. It is impossible now to identify these berewtcks.
w Customs here mean the customary dues or payments.
Ifrinfare % q,d. Hind-departing, was a forfeiture to the lord, for flight for rnm
for killing his servant or hind, or for inveigling htm away,
" Fort: 1 place before or steal before another, was the assaulting
obstructing of any person on the king's highway.
\
Chap. HI.] NORMAN TIMES.- DOMESDAY. 23
boundary firmly placed, Bemaining behind after oath taken to fight. 19
For these [offences] the amends [or forfeitures] were forty shillings.
Others of these lands were free from all customs save [Dane] geld, and
are now partly free from [Dane] geld 20 .
The whole manor of Salford, with the hundred, paid [as rent] thirty-
seven pounds four shillings. There are now in the manor, in the de-
mesne two ploughs and eight serfs [servi], and two villeins [villani]
with one plough. 21 This demesne is worth one hundred shillings.
The land of this manor is held by the knights, of the gift of Soger de
Poictou. Nigel [has] three hides and half a carve of land. Warin two
carves of land. And another Warin one carve and a half. Qoisfrid one
carve of land. Gamel two carves of land. In these [lands] there are
three thanes and thirty villeins, and nine bordars [or cottagers : bordarii]
and a priest, and ten serfs [servi]. Among them all they have twenty-
two ploughs. It is worth seven pounds.
[The following is placed under the survey of Leyland hundred.]
The men of this manor [Leyland] and of Salford did not work by
custom at the hall [or manor-house] of the king ; nor did they reap in
August. They only made one hay in the wood. And they had [or were
subject to] the forfeitures for bloodshed, and for the -violation of women.
M We have preferred rendering this literally. The Rev. William Bawdwen, who
translated Domesday, renders it " desertion after enlisting ;" but we think this use of
modern terms, sufficiently significant of modern usage, hardly correct as regards
offences against Saxon or Norman law eight centuries ago. The then mode of obtain-
ing soldiers was more like impressment or conscription than enlistment.
" This is translated by the Bey. W. Bawdwen (see Baines's Lancashire, vol. i.
p. 105) : " The rest of these lands were free from all customs except danegeld, and
they are partly free from danegeld."
21 Care is required in the translation of the Domesday record to discriminate be-
tween caruca a plough, and carucata a carve or plough-land. Both words are therein
abbreviated, and although the usual form is car. for caruca, and carve, for carucata,
this is not always the case ; and sometimes both are written by the first syllable only
ear. But the measure of land has usually the word terra following it ; and even
where this is not the case, the nature and order of the commissioners' inquiries will
prevent the reader from falling into error ; for one of the questions being " How
much in demesne, how much in tenancy, and what number of plough* will it keep ? "
it is a safe rule, when the abbreviation " car." occurs in a record of the survey of
i lands, to translate it "ploughs."
24
MAMECESTRK.
III.
They were sharers in [or in like condition with re$]>
customs of other superior manors, 82
It thus appears that in the whole hundred of Salford only four
places are named in Domesday, — Manchester, Salford, Radclilfe
and Rochdale. But this is the less remarkable when it is borne
in mind that the same survey designates the extent of the for
within the manor as nine square miles; the woods in the hundred
as nine and a half miles long by five miles and one-eighth broad,
or not much less than forty-nine square miles, out of about four
hundred, the area of the entire hundred; and the waste land of
the manor as twelve carucates or carves of land.
The hide was the Saxon measure of land, and in the Domesday
Survey > in the time of Edward the Confessor, land is desciibed as
so many hides ; and this it is supposed was reduced, for the mea-
surements taken at the survey, to the Noraian standard of so
many carucates or carves. But what was the hide, and what the
carucate? Various authors, having iu vain tried to reconcile
conflicting statements in Domesday aud elsewhere, have eomc to
the conclusion that they were variable measures. From the
Domesday Book itself we learn that " Twelve carucates of land
make one hide ; a carucate contains one hundred acres ; and every
bovate or oxgang contains fifteen acres* ....*• But in that part
of Lancashire which lies between the rivers Rihble and Mersey, in
every hide there were six carucates of land." As to the hide, it
was originally as much arable land as would suffice to maintain
one family or household — usually in Saxon times by a threefold
s The nature of these exemptions and immunities will be better understood from
a passage in Domesday under the hundred of West Derby : "All these thanes [1
ing a manor caeh of Roger do Poietou] were accustomed to pay two ores of penn
[i#* 8d. or 3*. 4**.] for each carve of land [there being one or two carves in i
manor]. And by custom they built the king's [manor-] houses with their appur-
tenances, as the villeins did, and [constructed] the fisheries, and the hays and stands
in tbc wood ; and whosoever did not go to this service when ho ought, was fined zj,,
and afterwards went to the work, and laboured till it was finished. Every one of
them, moreover, sent their reapers for one day in August, to cut the king** corn: If
he did not, he was amerced in 2«/*
Chap. III.] NORMAN TIMES. — DOMESDAY. 25
rotation of crops. To that accomplished Saxon scholar, the late
John Mitchell Kemble, we owe the satisfactory solution of the
quantity of land comprised in the hide. In his Saxons in England
he enters into most extensive and elaborate computations, on data
derived from the unrivalled collection of Anglo-Saxon charters
edited by himself; and he reconciles many apparent anomalies
and contrarieties in ancient documents. It seems that besides the
difference caused by the long and short hundred (120: 100) the
Saxons had both a large and a small acre. Their yard measure
was larger than the English yard of later days in the proportion
of 1 to 1 • 1 ; in other words the Saxon yard contained 39 • 6 of our
inches. Their furlong was 200 Saxon or 220 English yards. In
square measure, a plot of land 200 square yards long (the length
of the furrow) and ,5 broad (1000 square yards Saxon, or 1210
English) constituted a square furlong or rood (in Latin ajtigerum
or quarentena), which was in fact the small acre of Saxon times.
Four of these roods or square furlongs (4000 square yards Saxony
4840 English) made the Saxon large acre, which is almost iden-
tical with our statute acre. It follows that the hide, when it is
stated in documents to contain 100 or 120 acres, really refers to
the rood or small acre; 100 of which Saxon, or 120 English, make
one hide. But it is more convenient to take the Saxon large acre,
as so nearly the same with our present statute acre ; and we find
that of these 30 Saxon (equivalent to 334 English and to 40
Norman) acres make the hide. Mr. Kemble has thrown so much
light on this subject that it is to be regretted he did not also
elucidate the area of the Norman carve or carucate. The quota-
tions given above from Domesday indicate great variations in this
measure. Thus 12 carucates=i hide; but in South Lancashire
6 carucate8=i hide; and again the carucate contains 100 acres.
In various ancient documents the hide and the carucate are shown
to be different names for the same area of land. The etymology
of the word, from caruca a plough, in English " carve" or " plough-
land," may assist in solving the difficulty. If it were as much
land as could be tilled by one plough (and Skene thus defines it,
26
MAMECESTRE
I Cm u. ILL
adding "in a year and a day") it must have varied in quant i
for a plough in a light, sandy or loamy soil, would do twice as
much work as in a tenacious clay, or hard rugged soil. In
Domesday we find differences, however, between the carve and
the plough, as "44 carves of land, winch 30 ploughs can till;"
u 83 carves, which may be ploughed with 45 ploughs f " 15 carves,
which 8 ploughs may till," &e. As the Domesday Survey had
particular reference to the tax on land, it was more important to
indicate it by its plough-ability than by its acreage. The first,
with a variable quantity of land, would give about an equal
value; the second, with a fixed quantity of land, would demand
an ever- varying assessment or valuation- And this assumption
can alone account for the great discrepancies in the alleged acre-
age of the carucate. In the time of Richard I. it was stated to be
sixty acres; and if the large acre be meant, that would be nearly
two hides to the carucate; if the small acre, the carucate would
be fifteen large acres, or about half a hide. At first it might
be expected that the statement in Domesday that the churches
of St, Mary and St. Michael held in Mamecestre one carucate of
[arable] land, would settle the question. But though there is
some ground for supposing that this carucate was the detached
portion of the township of Newton called from Saxon times
Kirk-maos-hulme (&e, the church -man or priest 9 ! home or dwell-
ing), the area of this land affords no clue to that of the carucate,
John "Whitaker, in his History of Manchester (vol. ii. p. 434), states
that according to a late and accurate measurement, Kirkmanshulrne
contained 239a. 2r. 39^. statute measure, inclusive of the ground
taken up by the hedgerows and ditches. And he adds, with his
usual temerity : " 240 statute acres, therefore, were the general
complement of the ancient carucate." A more safe and sound
deduction from the extent of area would have been, either that the
original gift of a carucate had received large additions by subse-
quent donations, or that it was now blended with other adjoining
acquisitions of the collegiate body, and could not be distinguished,
all being included in the present hamlet of Kirkmanshulrne. Again,
Chap. III.] NORMAN TIMES. - DOMESDAY. 27
taking the statement in Domesday that in South Lancashire [in
Derby hundred] six carucates make one hide, we have twenty
roods or small acres, or five large or statute acres, as the area of
the carucate. Bracton states that a deed of Thomas de Arden of
19th Edward II. (1325-26) shows that the carucate was then
100 acres of land. Dr. Whitaker, in his Whalley, states that the
manors in Blackburn hundred averaged about one and a half
carucate each; that the oxgang was 16 acres, and the carucate
128 acres. This gives the average area of the Blackburn hundred
manors as 192 acres. If the word carucate in Domesday imply
any fixed quantity of land, perhaps it would be the safest conclu-
sion to regard it as one-fifth or one-sixth of the hide. In the
West Derby hundred, the worth of a carucate (2*. 8rf.) was just
one-sixth that of the hide (16s.)
In his Whattey (pp. 46 et seq.) Dr. Whitaker thus comments on
this portion of the Domesday Survey : —
In the manor of Salford, which denominated the hundred, were three
hides and twelve carucates of land. Radcliffe alone had been the imme-
diate property of King Edward : over the rest of the hundred he was
only lord paramount.
In Manchester were two churches respectively dedicated to St. Mary
and St. Michael, holding one carucate between them (we are not told
whether in common) liable to the geld only. In this hundred were
somewhat more than forty-five [square] miles of native wood. To this
hundred also, in King Edward's time, appertained twenty-one bere-
wicks, held each by a Saxon thane, for so many manors. They con-
sisted of eleven and a half hides and ten and a half carucates; or,
according to the account given of the hide in the Derby hundred, about
seven hundred acres each. 23 One of these thanes named Gamel, who
9 We give this calculation as it stands, without being able to perceive its accuracy.
If the carucate be 128 acres, 6 carucates being equivalent to the hide in Derby hun-
dred, then ii} hides would be equivalent to 69 carucates or 8,832 acres: io\ caru-
cates= 1,344 acres; total of ui hides and 10} carucates, 10,176 acres — which,
divided by 21, gives about 484} acres for each berewick, and not 700 as stated. If
the carucate be 128 acres, and 6 carucates =1 hide, then the hide would contain 768
Can this be the cause of the error P The acre is not defined ; we are left in
MAMECESTRE.
[COA1-. III.
held two hidea in Becedham (certainly Rochdale), had certain peeuli
ties in liia customs, which have been already explained. ft<
aaid of tlie castle, which, as it gave denomination to Castletou, m
have existed before this time, but was now probably is
to have been afterwards restored, as the burgenet of b d istle
here ore mentioned as late as the reign of Edward II. The quantit
land held by Gainel will, 1 think, warrant the conclusion that he
thane of the four townships into which that parish is divided.
At the time of Domv&Kf a giesl revolution had taken place in the
state of property here. There remained in demesne two canice
cultivated by eight slaves and two villana, who occupied one carucate
between them.* 4
Of the rest of the hundred, Roger of Poitou had already granted
to be held by military service, to one Nigel three hides and half a
carucate ; to Warin, tw< I earueates ; another Warin, one and a half
carucate; Goinrid [supposed to be the first sheriff of Lancashire], one
carucate (aU Norman names) ; and to Gamel, perhaps the old lord
of Beeedham, two earueates. Theae were occupied by three th«J
thirty villans, nine bordarii, one presbyter, and eight slaves, holding it
all twenty-two earueates. Here let it be observed thsit three hides and
seven earueates are described as equal to twenty-two carucates ; there-
fore the hide here consisted of five earueates : 25 the demesne consisted
of three carucates. But this is far from accounting for the quantity of
laud enumerated above, which amounts at the san oinety-tl
earueates, This will be explained by the difference in the rental. Under
King Edward the hundred of Salford gelded 37?. 4*, At the time of
the survey it was reduced (undoubtedly by depopulation and neglect)
to 12/.
doubt whether the Lancashire acne of 7,840 square yards is implied, or the 1
statute acre of 4,840 square yards.
** We read this differently, viz., that in the demesne were two ploughs amongst
eigLt serfs, and a third plough worked by two villeins.
* All this calculation depends upon whether the classes of men named held twenty-
two earueates of land, as the Eev. W. Bawdwen and Dr. Whitaker render it, or had
amongst them twenty-two ploughs, as we translate the passage. The original has
" Inter omnes habent 22 car." not cantc* or even car. terra. It should also be
noted that Domesday generally describes land, whether hides or earueates, as he Id ;
ploughs as had. The number of ploughs (22) agrees with that of the berewiclts in
the time of Edward the Confessor.
Chap. IIL] NORMAN TIBiES. — DOMESDAY. 29
It is very difficult to conceive the statement here given of the inha-
bitants to be meant of the entire population ; yet how can any enume-
ration descend lower than slaves? Even comprehending these, only
sixty-three families are accounted for in the hundred of Salford; and
how should these consume the produce of 2,500 acres ; or how indeed
cultivate the ground, of which a large portion must have been under
tillage?
The five knights holding amongst them the manor (or hundred)
of Salford were : — *i& old c£™
1 Nigel [? Baron of Halton and Widnes] 3 i
2 Warin [? Banastre, Baron of Newton] 2
3 Warin [? Busli or Buscel, Baron of Penwortham] i^
4 Goisfrid [? Goisfrid, sheriff of Derby hundred] 1
5 Gamel [ ? the thane who held 2 hides in Rochdale] 2
Total 3 7
Of these five names, the first four are undoubtedly Norman.
Nigellas is the Latin form of Niele or Neale. A Nigel, a younger
son of Roger de Toeny, standard bearer of Normandy, accom-
panied the Conqueror to England, and held various lordships in
Derbyshire. Warenne or Garenne, was both a christian and a
surname. It implied what the English word warren still means.
Banastre and Buscel, were the surnames of two Lancashire barons
named Warin, who came over with the Conqueror. Goisfrid is
the Norman form of Godfrey, i.e. Anglo-Saxon God, and frede
peace, — God's or good peace. The Saxon Gamel meant old.
As to the relative holdings, Nigel had three hides and half a carve,
or rather more than one hundred and ten statute acres ; the other
four only holding one hide and one carve and a half amongst them.
Albert Greslet (Senex) married a daughter of William Fitz-Nigel
(i.e. William son of Nigel), baron of Halton and Widnes and con-
stable of Chester. If the Gamel be identical with the thane who
in the time of King Edward held two hides in Recedham, then
the hide and the carve would seem to be different names for the
same quantity of land. But Dr. Whitaker points out that the
30
MAMECESTRE.
[Chap. IIL
twenty-two carves [? ploughs] which all the holders possessed
amongst them, are equivalent to the three hides seven earves of
the five knights. In this case the hide would be equivalent to five
carves, as 3 x 5= 15 + 7 = 22 carves. The carve in this case would
only be twenty Saxon small acres, or about six and a half statute
acres* But all this is mere conjecture.
What is the picture, then, which the Domesday Survey paints
for us in the hundred of Salford eight hundred years ago? 26 First
as to the woods and forests. These were extensive ; but the two
require distinct definitions. The (t Silvae w of Domesday imply
woods of trees, more or less thickly growing. The fl Foresta n is
thus defined by Man wood, the great authority on forest law : n A
forest is a certain territory of woody grounds, privileged for wild
beasts and fowls of forest, chace, and warren, to rest and abide in
under the protection of the king, for his pleasure and recreation."
In the manor of Salford alone there was forest (ground not wholly
covered with wood) to the extent of nine square miles; having
many deer- hays, and an aery of hawks. This forest included much
pasture ground. In the manor or hundred, there were about
forty-nine square miles of wood, probably none of it as old as the
Roman times, but all the growth of the six centuries between their
quitting Britain and the Norman Conquest. Next comes the land,
whether used for pasture or culture. It seems to us not impro-
bable that the term "hide" was used in Domesday to denote the
quantity or measure of all land used as meadow and pasture,
exclusive of wood, forest aud waste; and that land under the
plough was measured by the w earucate," carve or plough-land. Iu
the manor were three hides and twelve carves of land, waste. But
* John Whitnker says (vol. ii. p. 120) that the hundred of Salford had jus»
manor*, ten tithing* and one hundred townships within its limits. In its parochial
division it consisted of ten parishes comprehending one hundred townships. Origi-
nally manor*, parishes, and tithing* were commensurate throughout the kingdom;
and the hundred of Salford seema to hare hmi -portions. Ten manors or
tithiugs or paruhes, comprising one hundred townships, constituted the hundred.
There are now twelve parishes in (lie hundred, thot of Ashton-uuder-Lyne being
originally in the pariah of Manchester | and Bolton, though nn ancient manor, is only
n modem pr «
Chap. III.] NORMAN TIMES. — DOMESDAY. 31
it is not clear whether the whole quantity was waste, or only the
twelve carves which had been arable. In Radcliffe there was one
hide, and another belonging to the hundred. The two churches
then existing in Mamecestre held a carve of land. Then in the
hundred, twenty-one berewicks consisted of eleven and a half
hides and ten and a half carves of land. These quantities cannot
be merely a larger and a smaller denomination of measure, like
acres, roods and perches ; for the carve being a fifth or sixth of
the hide, the sum would have been stated as thirteen and a half
hides and half a carve ; or thirteen and a half hides, one and a half
carve. They must here indicate so many hides of one kind, and
so many carves of another kind of land. There were also two
hides in Rochdale. This gives a total quantity of land, in wood,
forest, waste, &c. (the quantity in the demesne not being specified)
of about fifty-eight square miles, besides sixteen and a half hides
and twenty-three and a half carves, or about five hundred and
forty-seven statute acres of land. This is a very imperfect
enumeration of land in the hundred of Salford, which had an area
of about four hundred square miles. The only conclusion to be
deduced is that the rest (save the demesne lands) was unpopu-
lated, uncultivated, and valueless. In a few years the value of the
whole hundred had decreased from £37 4s. to £12. One of the
most populous parts of England in the nineteenth century was
then for the most part a desert, though held by the crown. The
population consisted of one baron and his family, five knights,
twenty-four thanes, thirty-two villeins, eighteen serfs, and nine
bordars or cottagers. One priest is all that is named, though
Mamecestre alone had two churches. Including women and
children, the population of the hundred of Salford (having an
area of about four hundred square miles), so far as enumerated in
the Domesday Survey would not exceed ninety families. As only
four places are named in the whole hundred, the probability is
that the population was chiefly in and around these, and that the
rest of the district was either wood or forest, or a dreary uncul-
tured waste.
32
CHAPTER IV.
THE BAEONT AND MANOR.
THE GRESLETS.
A few words of explanation are necessary, as to what was a
Barony and what a Manor ; for there was an ancient barony, and
a still more ancient manor, of Mamecestre. A barony comprised
several, sometimes many manors ; and in later times especially,
the manor of Mamecestre formed only a small integral part of the
extensive barony of that name.
Madox in his Baronia Anglica refers the first erection of land
baronies in England to William the Conqueror, who to reward his
Norman barons, and to engage them to himself by an inviolable
faith, feoffed them of great dominions or lordships in England, to
hold by the service of so many knights. The head or chief seat of
the barony was not a city or town, but a castle ; as the head of a
manor was a mansion or manor-house. The holder of a barony
was a baron, lord, or seigneur, — the only title of nobility below
that of earl immediately after the Conquest, and William I. him-
self was only "Earl William." Soon after the Conquest all
holders of baronies and manors or lordships sat in parliament as
barons. But these being very numerous, it was ordained in the
reign of King John that none but the barones majores should come
to parliament; and that these, for their extraordinary wisdom,
interest, or quality, should be summoned by writ. Afterwards,
as nobility depended on the king's will, others obtained letters-
patent of this dignity to them and their heirs male, and were
called "barons by letters patent or creation," and their posterity
are now by inheritance barons or lords of parliament. Those
barons first called by writ are now justly barons by prescription,
Chap. IV.] BARONY AND MANOR,— THE GRESLETS. 38
for they and their ancestors have been barons beyond the memory
of man. The origin of barons by writ, Camden refers to Henry III.
and barons by letters-patent or creation, to the 1 ith Richard II.
(1387-8). Some of our ancient lords are also barons by tenure.
In ancient records the word baron included all the nobility of
England, for all nobles were barons, though they had a higher
dignity. The great council of the nobility, consisting of dukes,
marquises, earls and barons, included all as "de La Councell de
Baronage." (Glanv. cap. 4.) These barons had two ensigns
given them, to remind them of their duties, — a long robe of scarlet
in respect of which they are accounted " de magno concilio regis ;"
and they are also girt with a sword, that they should ever be ready
to defend their king and their country. (2nd Instit. 5.) The earls
palatine and marcher of England had anciently their barons under
them ; but no barons save those who held immediately of the king
were peers of the realm. (Jacob.)
The earls palatine of Chester and Lancaster had their barons
holding baronies, manors, &c. of them ; these earls in turn holding
directly of the king. Thus Roger de Poictou ranked among the
" Capitales Barones" holding immediately from the crown. The
barons who held of Roger were styled " Barones Comitates" or
barons of the county, and held free courts for all pleas except
those belonging to the earl's sword. The barons under Roger de
Poictou, in Lancashire, shortly after the Conquest, are thus
enumerated in Kenton's MS.: —
1 Godefridus, Vice Comes ejus de Derby.
2 Yardfridus, Baro de "Widnes.
3 Paganus Villers, Baro de "Werington.
4 Albertus Grelle, Baro de Mamecestre.
5 Burin [Byron], Baro de Ratchdale et Totington.
6 Hbert Lacy, Baro de Clitheroe.
7 "Warinus Banistre, Baro de Newton.
8 "Warinus Busli or Bushel, Baro de Penwortham.
9 Roger de Montbegon, Baro de Hornby.
10 William Marshall, Baro de Cartmel.
34 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. IV.
ii Michael Flemingus, Baro de Glaston.
12 William de Lancaster et ) _ t _
Eobert de Fumes, J Bar0 de ^verrton.
13 William de Lancaster, Baro de NetherwiresdaL
14 Theobaldus Walter (or Pincerna, or Butler), Baro de Weeton.
Roger de Poictou, Earl of Lancaster (?) prudently stationed his barons
in the most vulnerable places to preserve his earldom in quiet
Opposite a high ford or boat, called Holyn Fare Passage, out of Cheshire
to Strait-ford, as well as to keep guard against another Cheshire baron
called Stokeport, he placed Albertus Grelle, an eminent baron
The Baron of Manchester held divers fees in the hundred of Leyland. —
(Kenton* s MSS.) The succession of different families to the baronies
of the county is thus given in PercivaVs MSS. : —
1 Vicecomes de Derby — Godefrid, Peverel, Ferrers.
2 Castellanus de Liverpool — Molyneux.
3 Baronia de Widnes — divided between Lacy and G-relle.
4 Ditto Warrington — Paganus Villers, afterwards Butler.
5 „ Newton — Langton.
6 „ Mamecestre — Grelly, [La Warre], West, Mosley .
7 „ Rochdale — Baldwin Teutonicus, afterwards Byron.
8 „ Clitheroe — Lacy, the Crown, Monk, Montagu.
9 „ Penwortham — Bussell, Lacy, the Priory, Fleetwood.
10 „ Hornby — Roger de Montbegon.
11 „ Furnes — Michael Fleming.
12 „ Wiresdale — William de Lancaster.
13 „ Weeton and Amoundernes — Theobald Walter.
[The Baron of Cartmel appears to be omitted.]
It may be sufficient here to state as to the earls or lords para-
mount in Lancashire, that in 1102 William Peverel, a base son of
the Conqueror and lord of Nottingham, succeeded to some of Roger
de Poictous possessions, including the wapentake or hundred, and
the town or vill of Salford. It was under PevereFs rule that
Albert Greslet received the grant of a large tract of country in the
hundred, forming a very considerable proportion of the barony of
Mamecestre. From Peverel the greater part of Lancashire passed
to Stephen earl of Blois, Bologne and Moreton, and from him to
Chap. IV.] BARONY AND MANOR.- THE GRESLET8. 35
Handle de Gernouns, Earl of Chester, who is said to have pos- *
sessed himself of one-third of the whole realm.
THE GRESLETS.
So far as is known there were of the house of Grelle, Greslet
or Gresley, in succession, eight barons or lords of Mamecestre,
who may be briefly enumerated : — 2 ?
I. Albert, the favourite of Roger de Poictou, temp. William I.
and William II. (1086-? 1100), who probably held lands "in a
wide circle of territory, within Salford hundred, of which Horwich
Moor was the centre," and which, at a later period constituted what
was termed " the Upper Bailiwick" of the lordship of Mamecestre.
It is not certain whether his possessions extended to " the Lower
Bailiwick 1 ' or the manor of Mamecestre; but he is generally regarded
as the first baron of Mamecestre. He was succeeded by his son —
II. Robert, temp. William II. and Henry I. (? 1 100 - ? 1 135) who
(in a charter of 1316) is named with his son as the joint founders
of the Cistercian Abbey of Swineshead co. Lincoln (a daughter
house to Furness), and who in 1131 gave to the abbey his mill at
Mamecestre. He is supposed to have died about 1135, and to have
been buried in his Lincolnshire Abbey. But this account is at
variance with the Annals of Peterborough and Parco Lude, which
state that Robert de Greslei founded the abbey in 1134; while
the Book o/Furnes8 places its foundation nine years later, in 1143.
Such is the uncertainty as to early facts and dates. Robert was
succeeded by his son —
III. Albert, who, to distinguish him from his own son, was
v Dr. Kuerden, under the head "Baronia de Mamecestre" in his folio MS. in
Chetham*s Library (pp. 274 et seq.) has given an account collected from uncited
authorities, and which is full of errors. It has been printed by Baines (vol. ii. pp.
173-175) with various omissions and some further errors. The errors were mainly
attributable to the eight Greslets having only three Christian names, viz. three Alberts,
three Boberts, and two Thomases. Thus Kuerden, after noticing the first Albert,
goes on to name the possessions of a Robert who lived in the thirteenth John, and
who consequently, instead of being the second baron, must have been the fifth.
Then he confounds Albert Senex with Albert Juvenis, and altogether his compilation
is quite untrustworthy.
36 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. IV.
called "Senex" or "old Albert." He lived temp. Stephen and
Henry II. (? 113,5-! 1166), and married Agnes or Matilda, daughter
of William Fitz-Nigel, baron of Halton and Widnes, and constable
of Chester, with whom he acquired lands in the upper bailiwick of
the barony of Mamecestre, including Raynford (a chapelry of the
parish of Prescot), Childwall, Cuerdley (a township in Prescot
parish), and the townships of Allerton, Garston and Hale, all in the
parish of Childwall, near Liverpool. Amongst his grants of land
according to the Testa de Nevill were — to Orme Fitz-Ailward
or Eward (with his youngest child Emma in marriage), one
knight's fee in Dalton, Parbold and Wrightington ; also for ten
shillings yearly one carve of land in Eston (i.e. Orme-Eston, or
Urmston). To Henry Fitz-Seward, one carve in Flixton for ten
shillings yearly. To Ulric of Mamecestre, four oxgangs of his
demesne for five shillings yearly (long held by the grantee's descend-
ants) ; to Robert Bracebrigge two oxgangs of his demesne in Mame-
cestre, for four shillings yearly. To the church of Mamecestre,
in alms, four oxgangs of his demesne, supposed to be the site of the
Old Parsonage, in Deansgate. To the abbey of Swineshead, in
alms, one croft, named Wythacrcs. He is supposed to have died
in or before 1 166, and was succeeded by his son —
IV. Albert Juvenis, or "Young Albert, 11 who lived temp.
Henry II. (! 1 166 -! 1 182). He may have succeeded to the barony
at an earlier period than that assigned; for in 1166 (12th Henry II.)
he confirmed the grants of his grandfather and his father to Swines-
head Abbey. He married Isabel or Elizabeth Basset, daughter of
Thomas, and sister of William or Gilbert Basset, who survived him
and married Guy de Creon for her second husband. — Among the
grants of u Albert Juvenis' 1 according to the Testa de Nevill were
the following : — He gave Thomas de Perponte three carves of
land in Ruhwinton and Lestoc for the third part of one knight's fee.
To William Noreus [Norreys] , two carves of land in Heton, for ten
shillings [yearly] . To Alexander, son of Umoch, two oxgangs of
land in Little Lofre [Lever], for half a mark [6*. 8d.] and twelve-
pence or one eyas-hawk [" nisum"] yearly. To Elias de Pennil-
Chap. IV.] BARONY AND MANOR. — THE GRESLETS. 37
bury, Slivehall, for twelve-pence or one eyas hawk yearly. To
Robert, son of Henry, two oxgangs of land in Milafesharh' [ !
Melshelache, Molsfrellacbe, Menshellache, or Moschellache] for
three shillings [yearly.] " Young Albert's" date of death is un-
known ; but he was dead in 1 182 ; and was succeeded by his son —
V. Robert, who lived temp. Henry II., Richard I., John and
Henry III. (? 1182-1230) and as to whom we have some better
data. He was eleven years of age in 1186, which gives his birth
year 1 175, and shows that he was not seven years old at his father's
death. During his nonage he was placed under the guardianship of
his mother Isabel, and his uncle Gilbert Basset. On coming of
age, 6th Richard I. (1194-9^5), he did homage and was invested in
his lands. He was the first Greslet who is known to have lived in
Mamecestre, and his abode is supposed to have been the Baron's
Yard, or Hull, on the site of Chetham's hospital, school, and
library. He made many grants or sub-infeudations of land to his
followers and tenants. In the Testa de Nevill he is stated to have
held twelve knight's fees in the county f * infra Limam et extra." 28
28 " Infra Limam et extra," i.e. under and without or beyond the Lime. But what
was the Lime ? Dr. Hibbert-Ware notices two different opinions. Sir Peter Leicester
in adverting to an old saying, " None do me service beyond the Lime," regards the
word "lima" or " lime," as an old corrupt version of limes (a limit or boundary line),
and observes that there were two towns situated on the verge of the Cheshire palati-
nate, namely Ashton and Newcastle, to each of which the words " subtus limam"
were appended. Others would read the word "lineam," agreeably to the English
name of Ashton-under-Lyne, which they regard as pointing to the local situation
of the town "under the line" of Mercian Cheshire; and so distinguished from
Aflhton-on-Mersey, which was not situated " under," but " upon" the great Cestrian
boundary. This, however, does not remove the difficulty; for almost all ancient
charters have " limam" and not " lineam." Dr. Hibbert-Ware thinks that whether
the word be lime or line, reference is made to the great Mercian or Cheshire verge, or
line, which is to be traced along the south-easterly and southerly districts of the
barony from the Tame to the Mersey. Thus, such knights' fees as lay below this
verge or line contiguous to the Tame or the Mersey from Ashton-under-Lyne to
Flixton, and those in Widnes, adjoining the estuary of the Mersey, would be termed
"infra limam," or perhaps "lineam." Such knights' fees as were more remote from
the Mercian verge or line, as those in the north of the Salford hundred, or in Ley-
land, would be designated " extra limam," or by some " lineam."
88 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. IV.
One of these fees was held by Matthew, son of William, and
Roger, son of William, in Withington, of ancient tenure, by the
service of finding a judge [for the Mamecestre Court Baron]. Is
this Matthew do Havereege? Gilbert do Neuton [or Notton], with
the Lady 4>f Barton, held one fee and a half of the same Robert.
Thomas de Withington half a fee, of ancient tenure. Richard, son*
of Robert [de Lathom], five and a half carves of land, (viz. three in
Childwall, one in Aspull, one in Turton, and half a fee in Brochels),
" wherefore, six and a half carves make one knights fee." Roger
de Samlesbury and Alexander [de Harewood] held six carves in
Harewood, of the aforesaid fee ; and also an oxgang for three shillings
(yearly) in Chappies, [Sharpies.] Alexander de Pakinton [Pilking-
ton] held of Robert Gredle, one-fourth of a fee and was to find one
judge, of ancient tenure. If the same Robert be referred to, when
the Testa de Nevill describes him as " Robert Gredle who now is,"
he gave to Robert do Bury the elder fourteen oxgangs of land of his
demesne or lordship of Mamecestre, for half of one knight's service.
The same Robert gave to Ralph de Emecote two oxgangs of land of
his demesne of Mamecestre for 6s. 8rf. yearly. We are further told
that " the Robert Gredle who now is " gave to Ace [ Aca] the clerk
one [? oxgang of] land of his demesne of Mamecestre for 3*. [yearly],
and that the same Aca holds that land. This land which Dr. Hib-
bert-Ware was of opinion was the same with "the Four Acres,"
u Nether Acres," and " Acres Field," was afterwards six and a half
acres in extent, and was the site of "Aca's" or "Acres" Fair,
covering St. Ann's Square and the neighbouring land; the cross of
the fair and market being erected where Cross-street is now, and
the tolls of the fair and market being collected in Toll Lane. Dr.
Hibbert-Ware says that this Robert granted lands to tenants of the
old Saxon stocks bearing the names of the places where they settled,
viz. Hulnie, Worthington, Prestwich, Withington, Chorlton, Cheet-
ham, Middleton, Hest in Middleton, Hulton, Pendlebury, Clifton,
Notton or Newton, and Fails worth. In 1222 and again in 1227 he
obtained a charter for a yearly fair in Mamecestre. The possessions
of Robert Greslet in that part of the Salford hundred, which after-
Chap. IV.] BARONY AND MANOR. — THE GRESLETS. 39
wards constituted the upper bailiwick of the barony, appear to have
comprised a large tract about ten miles from north to south, and of
a breadth varying from six to eight miles ; — including Anlezark,
Sharpies, Longworth, Rivington, Turton, Smithells, Halliwell, Har-
wood, Little Lever, Bradshaw, Horwich, Heton, Lostock, Bum-
worth, Pilkington, Dean, Aspull, West Houghton, Hulton and
Farnworth. These possessions subsequently constituted the upper
bailiwick of Mamecestre. The lower bailiwick, as possessed by this
baron, seems to have been bounded by the Irwell, from the point
where the Medlock falls into it, to Strangeways ; thence extending
eastward in an irregular course towards Blackley and Alkrington,
whence the boundary continued in a south-easterly direction to
Ash ton- under- Lyne. Here the river Tame became its boundary, as
far as to where it falls into the Mersey near Heaton Norris. Then
the Mersey became the boundary westward, along its course, by
Didsbury and Urmston, till its confluence with the Irwell near // 7
Cadishead ; and thence the Irwell was the boundary north-east to fv ^ y _
the starting point at Aldport. Robert died in 1230-31, and was ^ ^
succeeded by his son — , ^ j-fji n>af
VI. Thomas, who lived temp. Henry II. (1231-1262). He
obtained from the king a grant of free warren over his lands in
Mamecestre and Horewich in the year 1249 ; and he was appointed
according to some Warden, but the patent distinctly says " Justicier,"
of the king's forests south of Trent in 1259-60. He held according
to one account five and a half knights 1 fees in Mamecestre, and six
and one-third knights' fees and one-twelfth of a fee in " Lindeshay
[? co. Lincoln] in the honour of Lancaster." The Testa de Nevill
gives the following statement of the "Fees of Thomas de Gretley :" —
Gilbert Barton holds one and a half knight's fee in the same place
[Barton] of the fee of Thomas de Gretley. Matthew de Haverseg'
holds one knight's fee in Withington of the said fee. Robert de
Lathom holds one knight's fee in Childwalle and one-fourth of a
knight's fee in Parbold, and three parts of a fee [i.e. the other three-
fourths] in Wrothinton, of the said fee. Richard le Perpund holds
one-third of a fee in Rumheworth of the said fee. William de
IVio - '
40
MAMKCKSTKK.
[Chap. IV.
Worthenton holds half a fee in the same vill of the said fee. Roger
de Pilkington holds one-fourth of a fee in the same vill of the said
fee. Thomas de Gretley holds in Liudeshay in the honour of Lan-
caster [? co. Lincoln] six and one-third knights' fees and one-twelfth
of a knight's fee, in chief of the lord the king. This Thomas Gr
died in the 46th Henry III. (1 261-2) and was succeeded (his eldest
son and heir Robert having predeceased him) by his grandson —
VII. Eobeet, who lived temp. Henry III. and Edward I. He
was born circd 1252, as he is stated to bo of age in 1273.
In that case he succeeded his grandfather in 1262, when he was
about ten years of age, and for his guardian during his minority
he had Edmund Oouehback, first Earl of Lancaster. He was
summoned to parliament as a baron by writ in the first four
years of the reign of Edward I. (1273-1276). During some
years of his life his uncle, Peter Greslet, was "custos ec
or keeper of the church of Mamecestre; but he never held the
barony or the manor. Robert married Hawise, daughter and coheir
of John de Burgh. Amongst his grants are lands at West wood in
Barton to the Abbey of Stanlaw [see IVhalky Voucher Book % p.
882] ; and to Whalley Abbey and the church of Mariden [St,
Mary's, Dean] a vill in the township of Itumworth, he confirmed a
grant by Thomas de Porpount of the latters lands near the chapel.
[lb. p. 61.] As he died in his homage 15th February 1282 (in
which year three inquiries as to his possessions were held) he was
about thirty years of age when he died, leaving —
VIII. Thomas, his son and heir, then not three years of age, and
consequently only twenty-two when he granted his charter to his
burgesses of Mamecestre on the 14th May 1301 (see frontispiece).
During his minority the custody of the barony was granted to
Amadeus de Savoy. Thomas Greslet lived temp, Edward I. and
Edward IL, and in March igog he granted the manor of Mame-
cestre to John la Warre Baron of Wick war co. Gloucester and his
w 1 to Joan or Joanna, Greslet*s sister and sole heir. Thus, after the
Greslets had held estates in Lancashire about two hundred and
twenty years, from the latter part of the eleventh to the beginning of
Chap. IV.] BARONY AND MANOR.— THE GRESLETS. 41
the fourteenth century, a great part of those possessions, including
the barony and manor of Mamecestre, passed by distaff to the Lords
de la Warre, — of whom more hereafter. The last male Greslet is
believed to have died about 1313, twelve years after his grant of the
Mamecestre charter, and four after transfer of the manor to La
Warre.
A manor (manerium) seems to be derived of the French manoir,
habitation, or rather from manendo, in abiding, because the lord did
usually reside there. It is a noble sort of fee, in part granted to
vassals (whom we call tenants) for certain services to be rendered ;
partly reserved by the lord for the use of his family, with jurisdiction
over his vassals or tenants for their farms. What is granted out to
the vassals we call tenemental lands ; what is reserved to the lord
demesne lands. The whole fee is called a lordship, formerly a
barony ; whence the court which arose out of this jurisdiction, and
is always an appendage to the manor, still retains its name of court-
baron. Touching the original of manors, it seems that in the begin-
ning there was a circuit of ground, granted by the king to some
baron or man of worth, for him and his heirs to dwell upon, and to
exercise some jurisdiction more or less within that compass, as he
thought good to grant, performing such services and paying such
yearly rent for the same as he by his grant required ; and that after-
wards this great man parcelled his land to other meaner men,
enjoining them such services and rents as he thought good, and so as
he became tenant to the king, the inferiors became tenants to him.
A manor may be compounded of divers things, as of house, arable
land, pasture, meadow, wood, rent, advowson, court baron, and such
like ; and this ought to be by long continuance of time beyond the
memory of man ; for at this day a manor cannot be made, because a
court-baron cannot now be made, and a manor cannot be without a
court-baron, and suitors or freeholders, two at the least ; for if all the
freeholds except one escheat to the lord, or if he purchase all except
one, there his manor is gone, causa qua supra, although in common
speech it may be so called. — (Cowell.) A manor may contain one
or more villages or hamlets ; or only great part of a village, &c.
G
42
MAMECESTRE.
ir.iAr. IV.
And thcro are capital manors, or honours which have other manors
under them, the lords whereof perforin customs and services to
superior lords. (2 Inst. p. 6j.) There may be also customary manors,
granted by copy of court-roll and held of other manors. (4 J9
p. 26 ; 1 1 Rep. p. 17.) But it cannot be a manor in law if it wanteth
freehold tenants ; nor a customary manor without copyhold I
(1 Inst. p. 58; Lit. p. 73 ; fi Rot. Abr. pp. 121 ; Jacob.)
The manor of Mamecestre was a manor by prescription, that is
from time beyond the memory of man, [ndeed, Domesday shows it
w^as a manor in Saxon times. It possessed a court baron, and the
other privileges ciiir.y. d by the larger manors. It comprised not
only several villa called its "members" with their hamlets, but a
large number of freehold tenants ; and its true position, therefore, was
in the second class of manors, inferior only to the capital manor or
honour, but superior to the mesne or subordinate manor and to the
customary manor which had no freehold but only copyhold tenants.
The extent and boundaries of the barony, of the manor, and of the
town or borough of Mamecestre, are not easy to define ; and it is best
to leave each to be indicated in some of the documents in subsequent
a, and to follow here the course of events, so tar as they
recorded in instruments that can be accepted as satisfactory evidi
It may here suffice once for all to state, that the ecclesiastical hist
of Mamecestre, from the earliest period to the coll conation of tho
parish church in 1421, has been so ably and so fully written by the
late Dr. Hihbcrt- Ware, as to leave nothing to be added within that
period of any importance. To the fourth volume of that excellent
antiquary's History of the Foundations of Manchester tho reader
is referred for all necessary information on this part of its local his-
tory. The scope of the present work is limited to the lay rulers of
the territory bearing the name of Mamecestre, and to the civil evi
connected with it.
From the brief summary already given of the eight barons of the
barony and lords of tho manor of Mamecestre of the hous*
Greslet, it will be seen that the first of them who seems to have
taken any real interest in the town was Robert Greslet the fifth
Chap. IV.] BARONY AND MANOR. — THE GRESLETS. 43
baron of that family. As we have already stated, he took part with
the barons in resisting the oppressions and tyranny of King John,
and was one of the assembled barons at Bunnymede; and the
following translation of a letter from that king to the sheriff of Lan-
cashire will show that these oppressions did not cease when Magna
Carta was granted ; for the king, having again provoked the barons
(Robert Greslet among others) to take up arms, addressed this
missive to the sheriff within eight months after signing the great
charter of English liberties : —
The king to the sheriff of Lancaster greeting. Know that we have
committed to our beloved and faithful Adam de Yeland the castle of
Robert Greslet of Mamecestre, with all appurtenances, and all the land
of the same Robert, which he held under the Lyme [infra Lymam], to
be held so long as it shall please us. Wherefore we also command that
you may direct full seisin to be made to the said Adam of the aforesaid
castle with appurtenances, and of the said land under the Lyme. —
(Rot, Litt. Pat. vol. i. part i. p. 165 .)
Notwithstanding this seizure the king sent to Robert Greslet
letters of safeguard, dated from the day of Circumcision in the
seventeenth year of his reign [i.e. January 1, 1216] to last three
weeks. He also granted to William Maresa the younger, and to
Hugh de Vivian, all the land which was Robert Greslet's, in order
to enable them to support the royal cause ; which, however, was
far too tottering for orders such as these to be executed. — (Rot.
IAtt. Patent, vol. i. pt. i. pp. 162-169; and Rot. Litt. Clam. pp.
311-313.) The death of John in October 1216 left Robert Greslet
in quiet possession of his estates in Lancashire and elsewhere.
Adam de Yeland was probably the same witb Adam de Eland,
who in 1227 is said to have been custos (or sheriff) for Earl
"William, and 1228 and four following years to have been appointed
sheriff of Lancashire. He is styled " Eland of Ebor." Sometimes
the name is written Heland. It is doubtless as sheriff of Lanca-
shire that he was directed to take and hold Robert Greslet's
possessions.
44
CHAPTER V.
GEANT OF A YEAELY FAIE.
As no grant of a market to the town of Mamecestre has been
discovered, and as it was in the power of the lord of the manor in
very early times to establish a market for the benefit of the
resiants within the manor, and still more for that of the burgesses
of a borough, there is strong reason for believing that the town
possessed a market "from of old time/' by ancient custom and
usage, and consequently Mamecestre was a market town by pre-
scription. [This was deemed sufficient to prevent Salford from
having a market till 1824.] It is probable that wakes or fairs had
been held on the dedication days of the old churches of St.
Michael and St. Mary ; but when these edifices perished, the fairs
may have lost their prescription, or it may have been desirable to
have an annual fair after harvest; or else, one by special royal
grant, without which the tolls for stallage, pesage, &c, could not be
enforced. The first institution of fairs and markets seems to have
been for the better regulation of internal trade, and that merchants
and traders might be furnished with such commodities as they
needed, at a particular mart, without that trouble and loss of time
which must necessarily attend travelling about from place to place,
to buy goods in small quantities. The lawyers tell us that as this
is a matter of universal concern to the commonwealth, so it hath
always been held that no person can claim a fair or market, unless
it be by grant from the king, or by prescription, which supposes
such a grant. — (2 In*t. p. 220 ; 3 Mod. p. 123). Therefore, if any
person sets up any such fair or market without the king's
authority, a quo warranto lies against him ; and the persons who
frequent such fair, &c, may be punished by fine to the king. —
Chap. V.] GRANT OF A YEARLY FAIR. 46
(3 Mod. p. 127). Fairs were generally kept once or twice in the
year ; and were doubtless first occasioned by the resort of people
to the yearly feast or dedication of the parish church. Hence in
most places the fairs by old custom are held on the eve or on the
same day with the wake or festival of that saint to whom the
church was dedicated; and for the same reason they were an-
ciently kept in the churchyard, till restrained by authority. At
the Domesday Survey the two churches in Mamecestre were dedi-
cated, one to St. Michael, the other to St. Mary the Blessed
Virgin. But in the space of one hundred and forty years it is not
improbable that one or both these edifices, which were in all
likelihood of wood, had perished, and that a church had been
erected in the stead of one or both of them, dedicated to St.
Matthew the Evangelist ; for we shall find that the fair obtained
by royal charter was assigned to the feast of that saint. It is on
record that in 1186 (32 Henry II.) Robert Greslet was eleven
years of age. That would give 1174-5 for the year of his birth.
It is also stated that he arrived at full age in the 6th Richard I.
(1195), and soon afterwards married a daughter of Henry, brother
to William de Longchamp, Chancellor to King Richard. He
resided in Maraece3tre, and is supposed to have fixed his seat on
what long bore the name of " The Baron's Hull" or hill, — the
site of the present Chetham's hospital, library and school. He
would be forty-six or forty-seven years of age when he made
application for the royal grant of a fair for his town of Mameces-
tre. There can be no doubt that while it had become a most
desirable privilege for the inhabitants, it was also greatly for his
own interest ; for whatever benefited the resiants must reflectedly
advantage their lord. By some grants of a fair, toll was leviable
by the lord, as a reasonable sum of money, due tathe owner of the
fair, upon the sale of things tollable, within such fair; or for
stallage, pickage, or the like. But toll is not incident to a fair
without special grant, and where it is not granted, such a fair is
accounted a "free fair." — (2 Inst. pp. 220-222.) We must
ascertain the real nature of the fair here, from the words of the
46 MAMBCESTRE. [Chap. V.
grant itself. Owing to circumstances, the first grant was only a
temporary one, and the second was not made till five years after
the first. When Robert Greslet first sought this new franchise,
Henry III. (in the sixth year of his reign) was in his minority,
and all that could be granted was limited to the remaining years
of the king's nonage, renewable doubtless on his attaining his
majority. Accordingly the first grant, nominally from the king,
but really from the regent (Hubert de Burgh), was couched in
the following terms, according to a transcript made expressly for
this volume, from the Fine Rolls deposited formerly in the Tower,
but now in the Public Record Office, London : —
(Rot. Fin. Anno Regni Regis, Hen. Tercii 6to, M. 3.)
Mjtnt a«tr' $ ^°^ Greslei dat diio R unu palefridu p hnda una
1 feria usq, ad etate dm R singHs annis ap mafiiu suu
de Mamecestr g duos dies durat r a scit in Vigilia Sci Mathei
Apti £ ipo die Sci Mathei. Nisi feria ilia f c . Et mandat est
Vic Lancastr qd capiat f c . TV H. t c . ap Leukenor xj. die Aug.
(Fine Boll of the 6th year of the reign of King Henry III. Skin 3.)
— . , I Robert Greslei gives to the Lord the King One Palfrey,
\ to have a fair until the full age of the Lord the King,
every year, at his Manor of Mamecestre, during two days, to wit, on
the Eve of St. Matthew the Apostle, and on the day of the same St.
Matthew, unless that fair, Ac. And the Sheriff of Lancashire is com-
manded, that he take, &c. Witness Hubert, &c, at Lewknor, the 1 ith
day of August (1222).
Tt is an error into which several writers (amongst others the
late Mr. Whattou) have fallen, that Robert Greslet gave for the
grant of a fair " five marks and a palfrey ;" — Keuerden says " four
marks and a palfrey" — for the extract from the roll of fines
names only a palfrey. The grant was in fact only a lease of the
privilege for the remaining five years of the king's minority. The
grant is of a fair, not in his town or borough, but " at his manor/ 1
and the duration of the fair is limited to two days, the eve and
the feast of St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, viz. the 20th
CllAF. V ]
GRANT OF A YEARLY FAIR.
47
i
and 21st days of September, The clause "unless that fair, &e./'
s a form not copied at length on the roll, because at the time well
understood, implying that unless the fair now granted be to the
injury or detriment of any neighbouring fair already existing, &&
similar form of direction to the sheriff to proclaim the fair, &c.,
is in like manner only indicated by its opening words. " Witness,
Hubert/' fee, is doubtless Hubert de Burgh* chief justice of
England and regent of the kingdom during the minority of the
king. Lewknor, where the grant is dated, is a parish chiefly in
the hundred of the same name, co. Oxon., three and a half miles
fn nn Tctsworth,
In the year 1227, Henry III. came of age, when a more potent
and authoritative grant of a fair was made {there being no consi-
deration stated) in which its duration was extended to three days,
including the morrow of St. Matthew, — an extension of the pri-
vilege which seems to imply that in the interval of five years the
fair had proved a successful experiment.
The following is a transcript from the Charter Roll, formerly in
;he Tower, but now in the Public Record Office : —
(Rot, Cart. Anno Rer/ni Regis, Hen. Tercij undecimo, M. 4.)
J H. Rex £ c . Sail, Sciatis nos concesSf f hac
( pscnti carta nra coTmassc Robto Greslay qd
ipe £ hedes sui bant ippetuu una feria ap tuarmu suu de Mame-
cestr singut annis p tre3 dies dur videi i vigil f 1 die f I c stiuo
Sci Mathi ApiL Ita tn [f°. ut s" i aliis cartis de feriis Q ft re
vof f e , T. ut s\]
litis tcstibj H. de Burgo Com Kane Justic Angt R. Com!
Cornnb frc nro Witlo Com Albemari Hugoe de Mortuo Mari
Briano de Insula Pint de Albiniaco Rado Gernun Ric de
Argent f aliis. Dat p manu vefiabil pat's Radi Cycestr Epi
Cancel la? nri apud Farendon nono decimo die Aug anno r
n xj°.
Before appending a translation, it may be right to give more
fully the passage within brackets, It reads " Ita tamen, &c, ut
P Kahto <5re*I<w.
48 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. V.
supra, in aliis cartis de feriis, Quare volumus, &c, Teste ut supra/'
With the context in place of the " Sec." the passage runs :
Ita tamen quod predicta feria non sit ad nocumentum vicinarum
feriarum, ut in aliis cartis de feriis. 29 Quare volumus et firmiter prseci-
pimus, quod pnedictus Robertus et heredes sui habeant in perpetuum
praedictam feriam bene et in pace libere quiete et honorifice cum omni-
bus libertatibus et liberis consuetudinibus ad hujus modi feriam
pertinentibus.
(Charter Boll ofiifh Henry III. Skin 4.)
4Pat ttnlicrt Otoalan / Hemy ' King ' &c> ' & reetin S' Know 7 e that
jFox iKouett mtm^\ WG have ^^ and by thi8 our present
Charter have confirmed, to Eobert Greslay, that he and his heirs may
have for ever one fair at his manor of Mamecestre, yearly, during three
days, namely, on the Eve, and on the Day, and on the Morrow of St.
Matthew the Apostle ; on condition [that the said fair may not be to
the harm of neighbouring fairs, as [is provided] in other charters of
fairs. Wherefore we will and strictly command that the said Eobert
and his heirs may have for ever the said fair, well and in peace, freely,
quietly and honorably, with all liberties and free customs to this kind
of fair appertaining.] These being witnesses : — H. de Burgh, Earl of
Kent, Justiciary of England; 30 R. Earl of Cornwall our brother; 81
29 The oldest Latin word for fair was nundiruB. Our English name is from the
Norman feire, latinised feria ; and it has been conjectured that both the English and
French names are from feria (holidays), because it is incident to a fair that persons
should be privileged from being molested or arrested in it for any other debt or con-
tract than what is contracted therein, or at least was promised to be paid there.
30 Hubert do Burgh, the official witness of the earlier grant, and the first of those
named in the later, could trace his ancestry as high as the Emperor Charlemagne,
from whose fifth son (Charles duke of Ingeheim) descended Harluin de Burgh, who
married Herlova or Arlotta, the mother of William the Conqueror, and had by her
two sons, — Odo, bishop of Bayeux and earl of Kent, and Robert earl of Moreton
and Cornwall. Robert's son William claimed the earldom of Kent, as Odo's heir,
and Henry I., refusing to recognise his claim, he rebelled, was defeated, deprived of
his eyes, and imprisoned for life. Of this Earl William, Hubert de Burgh was a
grandson. From an early period of his life ho was in the service of Richard I. In
the year 1200 he was king's chamberlain to John, and rapidly advanced in favour
with that monarch ; had the charge of the castles of Dover, Windsor, Hereford Ac;
the wardenship of the Welsh marches, for the defence of which the king gave him a
Chap. V.] GRANT OF A YEARLY FAIR. 49
William Earl of Albemarle ; 32 Hugh de Mortemar [or Mortimer] j 88
Brian de L'Isle 5 s4 Philip d* Albini j 35 Ealph Gernun [or GernounB] j 36
hundred knights [fees] ; the shrievalties of Dorset, Somerset, Cornwall and Berk-
shire, &c. It is said to have been in his charge that Prince Arthur was sent to
Falaise; and his disobedience to tke king's cruel commands was forgiven, when he
announced to the murmuring barons that Arthur was still alive. In 12 14 or 12 15,
as seneschal of Poictou, he arranged a five years' truce between the kings of England
and France, and in that capacity he attended at Runnymede 15 th- 19th June, 12 15,
when Magna Carta was signed ; and a few days afterwards was raised to the high
office of chief justiciary of England, with the custody of the honour of Peverel, of
the chamber of London, and of the mint. At the commencement of the reign of
Henry HI. he was continued justiciary with a salary of 300/. per annum. In March .
1 2 19 the regency was conferred upon him, and in his government he is said to have
shown wisdom and firmness, with some severity ; he repressed a dangerous insurrec-
tion in London in 1222, and in that year married for his third or fourth wife Margaret,
eldest sister of Alexander King of Scotland. When Henry III. attained his majority
he continued Hubert as his minister, and raised him in February 1227 (six months
before this grant) to the earldom of Kent, and in the following year his title of
chief justiciary was confirmed to him for life. The envy of various barons, the
enmity of Peter de Rupibus bishop of Winchester, and the jealous and irritable
temper of the king, led to his fall. He was removed from his office in July 1232, and
was for years persecuted by the king, twice torn from sanctuary, and once outlawed.
His last few years were spent in peace and retirement, and he died in May 1 243 at
Banstead, Surrey. He was a faithful servant and a wise councillor to two ungrateful
monarchs. — (See Foss's Judges of England, vol. ii. p. 272.)
u (Page 48.) Richard Plantagenet, the king's brother, was a younger son of King
John. He was created earl of Cornwall 30th May 1226, was elected king of the
Romans, and died in 1272.
a William de Fortibus, son and heir of Hawise (daughter and heir of William le
Gtos, third earl of Aumarle or Albemarle) by her second husband, was the seventh
earl of Albemarle, the second of bis name, succeeding in 1 212. He was one of the
celebrated twenty-five barons appointed to enforce the observance of Magna Carta.
He died in 1241.
* Hugh de Mortimer was the fourth baron (by tenure) Mortimer of Wigmore, his
great grandfather Ralph having come to England with William the Conqueror, and
obtained the Castle of Wigmore. This Hugh succeeded in 12 15, and died in 1227.
84 Brian de Insula, or De L'Isle, was so named from the Isle of Wight or the Isle
of Ely. He held a high place in royal favour from the 2nd John (1200) till his
death. Amongst other offices he was custos of the castles of Knaresbro' and Bolsover,
chief forester for the counties of Nottingham and Derby, one of the custodes of the
vacant archbishopric of York, and a warden of the seaports of Yorkshire and Lin-
colnshire. The king frequently describes him as his beloved knight, and he seems to
H
MAMECE3TRE
[CHA:
Richard de Argentine 5 s7 and others. Given by the hand
have been not only in continual attendance on the royal person, but to hire been
admitted to the intimacy of playing at tables with his sovereign. Being n devoted
adherent of King John, ho greatly benefited by the grants of forfeited estates. In
jtb Henry TIL (1210-21) he was appointed chief justice of the forests, from which
office he was removed about three years afterwards, and also disseised of various
manors ; but, making his peace, he obtained restoration of his lauds, a royal gift of
deer for his park at Saleby Coline, and the grant of a fair for that place. In 10th
Henry III. (1226) he was appointed one of the justices itinerant for Yorkshire, and
in 1233 he was constituted sheriff of that county. He died in August 1214. —
(Fose's Judge* of England \ vol. U. p. 370.) He was Baron L'Islo by tenure, and
died without issue,
* {Page 49.) Sir Philip d' Albini, a relative of the bouae of Albini, lords of Bel voir
Castle, and himself a baron. He was a man of great and various ability. At one time
tutor to the young King Henry III. (Matthew Farts styling him " Regis Anglornm
Magistcr et eruditor fidelissimus") ; he was appointed governor of Jersey in 1213;
joined the barons' confederacy against King John ; after the Accession of Henry III.
he commanded a large force at the battle of Lincoln, and about the same time was ap-
pointed one of the council of the Karl Marshal, the guardian of the realm* He was
more frequently employed at sea than any other man of his rank, and so greatly distin-
guished himself in the sea- light olT Dover in 1217 that the success of that combat was
mainly attributed to his valour, though he was nominally second in command to
Hubert tie Burgb, then governor of Dover Castle. He was a high authority in naval
affairs. He made a second pilgrimage to the Holy Lund in 1236, and died there in
j 237. — (Sir N. H. NicoWs Mutary of the Royal Navy.)
m (Page 49.) Ralph Gernum or Gernon was a justice itinerant in 1219. He was
descended from Robert de Gernon, a Norman, who, for the assistance he gave to Wil-
liam the Conqueror, received various lordships in Hertfordshire. His father Ralph was
grandson of this Robert, and his mother was a sister of William de Breuae. He was
a firm adherent of King John (at one time one of his marshals), and received several
grants of land as the reward of his loyalty, In the 5th Henry III. (1221) he was
Appointed constable of Corfe Castle with a salary of sixty marks afterwards increased
to one hundred (40/. to 661. 13*. 4d.) In 7th and 8th Henry III. (1223-24) he waa
sheriff of Dorsetshire, and hi the following year he was appointed one of the justices
itinerant for that county, but afterwards another was substituted in his place. He
died in 1247. — (FosVs Judge* of England^ vol. ii. p. 348.)
87 Richard de Argentine, third Baron Argentine by tenure, was the son of Reginald.
second baron, a justiciary in the court at Westminster early in the reign of John
(1201-2), and who lost his lands by joining the barons, but had restoration in
Henry III. (1217). Richard de Argentine died in 1246, and was succeeded by his
son Giles, who was a justice itinerant under Henry III. — (Ibid. vol. ii. p. 30.)
AP. V.]
GRANT OF A YEARLY FAIR.
51
I
ruble Father, B&lph Bishop of Chichester, our Chancellor, 3 * at Faring-
don, 80 the 19th day of August, in the 1 ith year of our reign (1227).
The Greslei of 1222 is Greslay in 1227. The grant is distinctly
called a charter in its first clause. The former grant was to Robert
Grcslet only; this is to himself and his heirs for ever. Both grants
are made with the condition that the new fair should not be to the
hurt of neighbouring chartered fairs. If a person hath a right to a
fair, and another erects a fair so near his that it becomes a nuisance
to his fair, an action lies on the case ; for it is expressed or implied
in the king's grant, that it should be no prejudice to another fair.
(2 Rot. Abr. p. 140.} The clause given within brackets, by the words
" with all liberties and free customs/' &c. seems to denote that the
grant was of a "free fair," especially as there are no words in the
grant giving Greslet any right to levy toll. Though Whatton,
Baines, and Dr. Hibbert-Ware have printed the name of the manor
in their copies of these grants as a Maincestre" and u Maincestria,"
careful examination of both the original rolls led the official
Ralph de Neville, dean of Lichfield and bbbop of Chichester, styled "our
chancellor" in the grant, was bora at Raby Castle, co. Durham, the seat of the
baronial family of that name. On the accession of Henry III* he was made deputy-
keeper of the Seal, or vice-chancellor, under Richard de Marisco. He was conse-
crated bishop of Lichfield in April 1 2 24. On the death of Richard de Maris co, hi
May 1226, Ralph de Neville succeeded to the chancellors hip, which was confirmed
to him (as well as the chancellorship of Ireland) for life by several charters, with the
custody of the great seal. He was successively elected archbishop of Canterbury and
bishop of Winchester j but neither election was confirmed by the Pope* In 123^
the king took the great seal from him j and when again offered to him bo refused it.
In 1 242 he was restored to the king's favour, and to the chancellorship, which be
held till his death in Pebruary 1244 at the mansion he had erected for the bishops of
Chichester, subsequently known as Lincoln's Inn, He was wealthy and ambitious :
but contemporary historians give him a high character, not only for fidelity to his
sovereign in times of severe trial, but for the able and irreproachable administration
of his office. He was accessible to the poor as to the rich, and dealt equal justice to
all. — (Ibid. vol. ii. p. 423).
• The place where this charter was granted was probably Fariugdon, co. Hants, a
•mall parish three mile* south by west of Alton.
52 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. V.
transcriber to the belief that in every case the word was " Mame-
cestr." 40
As to the regulations of fairs, the first statute appears to have
been the 13th Edward I. statute 2 cap. 6 (1285.) — The kingcom-
mandeth and forbiddeth that from henceforth neither fairs nor
markets be kept in churchyards, for the honour of the church.
Then the statute of the 2 Edward III. cap. 15 (1328), requires
the sheriffs to cry and publish, within liberties and without, that
all the lords which have fairs (be it for yielding certain farm to the
king or otherwise), shall hold the same for the time that they
ought to hold it, and no longer ; to wit, such as have them by the
king's charter granted them, for the time limited by the said
charter, &c. And that every lord at the beginning of his fair shall
there cry and publish how long the fair shall endure, to the intent
that merchants shall not be at the same fairs over the time so pub-
lished, upon pain to be grievously punished. Nor the said lords
shall not hold them over the due time, upon pain to seize the fairs
into the king's hands, there to remain till they have made a fine to
the king for the offence, after it be duly found. — By the 5
Edward III. cap. 5 (1331), no merchant shall sell any goods or
merchandise at a fair, after the time of the fair is ended, under the
penalty of forfeiting double the value of the goods sold, one fourth
part thereof to the prosecutor, and the rest to the king. — Ten-
ants in ancient demesne were free and quit from all manner of
tolls in fairs or markets, whether holding in fee, or for life, for years
or at will. — (2 Inst. p. 221.) The fair granted by the above
charter is that still known as Acres or Aca's fair, and was held on
the site of St. Ann's Square and vicinage (formerly called Four
40 Mr. Whatton, in his Observation* on the Armorial Bearing of the Town of
Manchester, &c. t published 1 824, (p. 1 9), states, with respect to the two grants of a fair
to Manchester, that " copies of these charters are lodged in the town's chest, and are
in custody of the boroughreere for the time being." This is probably an error; for in
the various lists made from time to time of the documents in that chest, the oldest
being carefully written on a parchment roll preserved in the chest itself, no suoh do-
cuments are ever named.
Chap. V.]
GRANT OF A YEARLY FAIR.
53
Acres, and about four of the large Lancashire acres in extent), till
early in the present century, when it was removed to Camp Field.
The days were changed with the style, from the 20th, 21st, and
22nd September to the 1st October and two following days, and
the chief articles of sale are horned cattle, horses and pigs. For
the form of proclamation of this fair, and some old customs, see
Dr. Hibbert- Ware's History of the Foundations, vol. iv. pp. 40-41.
From a later document we shall see the tolls taken in Mamecestre
market and fair, on goods and commodities brought thither for
sale.
54
CHAPTER VI.
THIBTEEKTH CENTUKY LAW-MAKING.
Thb thirteenth century was a memorable one, both for its legis-
lation and for its collecting together and embodying in one
document the great principles of the British Constitution. 41 Seven
41 Any details as to the history of early British and Saxon laws would be out of
place in this volume j but a few facta may bo stated. The British laws are supposed
to hare been translated into Anglo-Saxon about A.D, 590, and to hare been published
about 6 io, u&der iEthelbert. Doubtless he modified them in forming his own code,
which are said to be the moat ancient English laws extant. There were in Alfred's
reign three different codes recognized in different parts of England. In 877-890,
when he spared the Danes, Northumbria was under u Dane'Lage •;" Alfred himself
compiled for Wessex the " Weat-Saxon*Lage ;" and throughout Mercia and the
Welsh marches the prevailing law was the " Morccn-lage," which contained various
old British laws. About a.d. 966, Edgar compiled from these three combined, one
general code. In 1015 Canute caused a new code to be drawn up at Winchester,
confirming the three codes, and relieving them of some of the feudal services* About
1065 Edward the Confessor revived the Anglo-Saxon judicature, and compiled a code,
on the bails of the West-Saxon lngc\ incorporating therewith the best of the Danish and
Mercian laws t in two principal divisions, — civil and criminal. The former secured
the estates by the old tenures of " Boc-land" (i.e. charter land, free snd saleable) and
« Soc-land" (i.e. held by payment of a yearly rent, with some personal service by the
tenant)* The Confessor's code comprised thirty -nine chapters. William the Con-
ijucror collected these, with largo alterations (introducing feudal tenures and stringent
forest laws) into seventeen chapters, and added four more chapters relating to pleas of
courts. In 1 100 was granted the charter or " Institutions 1 ' of Henry L, which has
been too flatteringly styled "the first charter of English liberties/ 1 It embodied
various laws of Edward the Confessor, with great additions and alterations of his
own, chiefly calculated for regulating the county courts. By this charter the king
abolished the great grievances of marriage, ward and relief; also the curfew: but he
fell far short of a restitution of the laws of King Edward the Confessor. Theft \
during his reign made a capital offence. The reign of Stephen is chiefly remarkable
in the history of legislation for the introduction of the Eoman civil and canon Ian
into this realm. In Ihe reign of Henry II. while the feudal claims of marriage, wa
Cuap. VI.] THIRTEENTH CENTURY LAW-MAKING.
55
centuries and a half after the supposed first landing of the Saxons
in England, and one hundred aud forty-nine years after the
Norman Conquest, there was a great assemblage on a grassy
plain of one hundred and sixty acres, on the banks of the Thames,
between Staines and Windsor, — a spot immortalised in our his-
tory by its name of Runny mede. Here on Trinity Monday, June
15, 1215, came on the one side that weak, profligate aud perfidious
despot, John "Lackland/ 1 with Fandulph, the papal legate, eight
bishops, obeying the pope against their country's weal, and not
more than fifteen noblemen and knights. On the other side stood
Stephen Langton the primate of England and the soul of the
enterprise, and with him the barons composing {t the army of God
and the Holy Church," the entire nobility of England. For five
days the barons urged their various articles or heads of agreement,
which were one by one reluctantly yielded by the king ; and these
were afterwards embodied in the form of a charter, which, from
its momentous value in securing the rights and liberties of Eng-
lishmen through ages of oppression, has been named the Great
Charter — " Magna Carta, 1 * To this charter the royal seal was
affixed at Runny mede on Friday the 1 9th June ; but it is dated
on the 15th, the first day of this remarkable conference. Besides
the clauses in this charter which confirm those of a charter of the
preceding February as to the special rights of the clergy, and the
other classes of provisions for restoring and preserving the rights
and relief, seem to have been enforced with general success, much wtis done to
methodise the laws, and reduce them into regular order. — {Vide GlanviL) The
remarkable points in this reign were the constitution of the parliament at Clarendon
in 1164^ by which the king checked the power of the pope and his clergy ; the insti-
tution of the office of justices in eyre, in itinere t — the kingdom being divided into six
circuits, and the judges administering justice and trying writs of assize in the several
eo an ties ; the introduction and eatiiblishment of the grand assize or trial by jury in ft
writ of right, in place of the barbarous Norman trial by ordeal ; and the introduction
of escuage, or pecuniary commutation for personal military service, which in process
of time was the parent of the ancient subsidies granted to the crown by parliament,
and of the land-tax of later times. For the whole subject of our early laws tee
Flint off On ihr Rise and Progress of the Laws in England and Wales .
56 MAMECE8TBE. [Chap. VL
of the barons and knights, and those of the freemen and even the
serfs, as well as those securing the ancient customs and liabilities
of cities and boroughs, and protection to foreign merchants trading
in England, — the great charter contains many clauses which
secure the rights and liberties of the English people as a whole;
by providing for the pure, speedy, fixed and uniform administration
of justice ; by prohibiting arbitrary punishment of any kind, and
especially arbitrary imprisonment; and by declaring the person
and property of every freeman under the solemn and sacred pro-
tection of equal laws. The great charter contains sixty-three short
chapters or articles, of various degrees of importance, including
bj C I r 5 even the regulation of wears in rivers ; but the two " essential
clauses," the " crowning glories" of this great document of liberty
and right, are chapters thirty-nine and forty, which are thus
translated : —
39. No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseised, or out-
lawed, or banished, or any ways destroyed ; nor will we pass upon him,
nor will we send upon him, 42 unless by the lawful judgment of his
peers, or by the law of the land.
40. We will sell to no man, we will deny or delay to no man, either
justice or right.
These two articles protect the personal liberty and property of all
freemen, by giving security from arbitrary imprisonment and
arbitrary spoliation. — (Hallam.)
This great charter was doubtless the model for all smaller grants
of liberties and rights, of free customs, franchises and immunities,
from the crown or the chief barons to the freemen and burgesses
of cities, town and boroughs; and at a later period we may have to
cite some of the enactments of Magna Carta, as exemplars in this
way. At present it may suffice to state that the original Magna
Carta of Bunnymede nowhere appears upon our statute-book;
* John had been in the habit of going with, or tending, an armed force, lawlessly
to seize the castles and lands of those he deemed hostile to him.
Ciiaiv VL)
THIRTEENTH CENTURY LAW-MAKING.
57
which usually commences with a later version of it " made in the
9 King Henry III. (1225), and confirmed by King Edward I. in
the twenty-fifth year of his reign" (1297). John died soon after
ll of the great charter; and the first act of the great earl
of Pembroke, as protector of the kingdom, on the accession of
Henry III. was to renew this charter (12th November 1216), but
with several changes* The provisions concerning the manner and
reason of levying scntages were omitted. The temporary stipula-
tions as to the troops and allies of John and his barons respectively,
were of course not copied. The provisions for empowering twenty-
five barons, elected by the whole body of the barons, to redress
violations of the charter, were not renewed. 43 In the next year
Mr, Thomson, in hii Historical Essay on Magna Carta (pp. 39 eiteq*) observes
that ** The greatest security of Magna Carta was that twenty-five barons wero elected
by the rest to an force the observance of all which this instrument contained. The
peers entrusted with this authority wero certainly some of the moat celebrated of
their time, both with regard to their descent, to valour, and to intellectual endow-
ments." Their names were —
1. Richard do Clare, sixth earl of Clare.
1. William de Fortibui, seventh earl of Aumerle or AJbemailo,
I leoffrey de Mandeville, earl of Essex and Gloucester.
4. Saher de Quincy, first earl of Winchester,
5. Henry de Bohun, earl of Hereford j lord high constable.
6. Roger Bigod, third earl of Norfolk ; steward of England,
7. Robert de Vere, earl of Oxford ; lord great chamberlain.
8* William Mareschall the younger, second earl of Pembroke.
9. Robert Fitz-Walter, baron of Dunmow,
10. Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester and Hertford (son of No, 1).
1 1. Eustace de Vescy, third boron VescL
t2. William de Hardell, lord mayor of London.
j 3. William de Mowbray, baron de Pronto Bosuf and fourth boron Mowbray.
14. Geoffrey de Say, fifth Lord Say.
15. Roger de Ifumbezon [first baron Mont-Begon].
16. William de HuntingFiold, first boron HunttngfiekL
j 7. Robert de Ros, fourth baron Roos.
18, John de Lacy, constable of Chester, and baron of Halton,
19, William de Alblnioc, Albany or D\A.ubeney, third baron Albini.
ao, Richard de Percy, fifth baron Percy.
*i. William Molet, boron of Molet, lord of Corey Molet, co. Somerset.
I
58 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. VI.
(1217) the charter of liberties was granted again, and some words
of infinite value were added to the clause by which the king binds
himself to respect the property and the personal rights of his sub-
jects. The charter was again renewed by Henry III. in the ninth
year of his reign ; at which time the Charter of the Forest was
granted, whereby many of the most atrocious iniquities of the
earlier game laws were redressed. The two charters were five
times renewed (with some temporary variations) between this
period and Henry's death ; but it is in that form which was pro-
mulgated in the 9 Henry III. that it appears at the head of our
statute-book, printed from the Inspeximus and confirmation of it
by Edward I. In this form (comprised in thirty-seven chapters)
Magna Carta has been solemnly confirmed by our kings and par-
liaments upwards of thirty times. In the 25 Edward I. (1297) in
the statute usually called "Confirmatio Chartarum," it received
an extension, protecting towns and cities from the king's power to
levy money from them at will, under the name of talliages. By
the new provisions of this act all private property was secured
from royal spoliation, and placed under the safeguard of the great
council of all the realm. To Magna Carta may be traced either
the origin or the recognition of the great principles of our consti-
tution, — an hereditary monarchy, of limited powers; a repre-
sentative system by hereditary peers, and elective representatives
of the commonalty. That without sanction of parliament no tax
can be imposed ; no law can be made, repealed or altered. Every
man's person and property protected by equal law. Trial by jury.
Justice shall not be denied, sold or delayed. — (Creasy an the
Constitution).
We have named the Charter of the Forest, which, passed in
February 122,5, was confirmed 28 Edward I. 1299. It comprised
a a. John Fits -Robert, baron Fits-Robert.
23. William de Lanvalay, second baron Lanrallei.
24. Hugh Bigod (eldest son of No. 6), fourth earl of Norfolk.
15. Richard de Mantfichet, fourth baron Montfichet.
Chap. VI.] THIRTEENTH CENTURY LAWMAKING. 59
sixteen chapters; directed that various woods, &c, which had
been afforested by Henry II., Richard I, and John, should be
disafforested ; all possessors of forests to have them as at the first
coronation of Henry II. quit for ever of all purprestures, wastes
and assarts. 44
,
H It is doubtless in conformity with this statute that there was a " Perambulation
the Forests of Lancashire 1 ' in the 12 Henry III. (J227-2S). A Latin copy
the record will be found in Barnes's Lancashire (vol. ir. appendix ii. p. 754).
These are the twelve knighta of the county of Lancaster who made perambulation
of the forests by the precept of the lord the king, to wit — - William Blundcll, Thomas
de Bcthum, Adam de Bury, William de Tatham, Adam do Coupynwra [Caponwray]
Adam do Molyneux, Gilbert do Killet, Paulinus de Gaircstang, Patrick de Berwyk,
jy de Lee, Grymebald de Ellale, Thomas de Burnhull ; — who soy that the whole
county of Lancaster cught to be disafforested, according to the tenor of the Charter
of the Forest, except the woods underwritten* In the first place, Quersmobb, by these
bounds, to wit, just as Langfcwayt stretches itself towards the Erlcsgate, descending
as for &s to the bridge of Musart Sikets [ditch j descending to the Frithhrok, follow-
ing the Frithhrok descending to the Lone, following the Lone ascending to (he
Eskbrok, ascending and following Maybrigge, ascending to Hankesdame, following
the sikets [ditch] of Hankersdame, ascending to the sikets [ditch] which is under
Vllethwnyt, and from that sikets to Storchag, and from Storchag to the east part of
the head of Brouneagat© ; following Brounesgate ascending to the top of the head of
Cloghok, and from the top of the head of Cloghok to the top of the head of Danierisgele,
descending thence to the sikets winch is between two marked oaks ["marbes arres ;**
marcas accas] following the Sileok to Blemes, following the sikets to Condone,
wing the sikets to the moss under Eghlotcshevcd j following that moss ascending
to the road [Ust] of Stokthwayfc, following the road ascending to the Erlesgatc. And
iorenver, outside these bounds John the king gave a certain part of that forest by
is charter to Matthew Gernefe and his heirs, paying therefor yearly half a mark
6m. 8«?.] Saving his venison, and therefore the lord the king may do his will.
And, moreoTer, CotTET and Blesedue by these bounds, to wit 1 From the head of
Calder on the south part to Wlnsty and from Wlnesty to the top of the head of
Pirlok, and from that summit following the Merleigh, descending to where the Mcr-
logh falls into the Broke at Tborpin Lees, following the brok and descending to the
watercourse \d#ctu~\ in the east part of Wonesnape, following Wonesnapc to Stayugile,
and from Stayngile to Comistit, and following Comisty descending to tho Calder,
following it ascending to the aforenamed Wlnsty.
And, moreover, Fulwgde by these bound*: From Hnya Rainsgvl to the way of
Sepal, and thence as far as to the watercourse [ductus] that goeth to Coleford-
le-Ferms, and thence as far as where it falls to CodelUche, and thence to the hay
GO
MAMECE8TKE.
r VI
Various other abuses were abolished, and forest customs reverted
to what they were at the coronation of Henry II. (19th December
of Rannislyt. And the men of Preston ought to have their timber for building and
for burning, and posture for their cattle.
Toxtath bj these bounds : As far as where Oskclesbrok falls into Mersee, follow*
ing Oskelcebrok, ascending to the park of Mage worn [? Maghull], and from the meadow
to Bromegge; following Mm Bronicggo to the Brouulawe, and thence crossing to the
old turbaries between two marshes to Lambiethorn, and from Lambisthorn descending
to the Watirfull at the head of Stirpull [? Lirpull], following and descending to the
Mersee. Near these hounds the lord John the king placed Smcthdoun with it*
appurtenances in the same forest \ and gave Thyngwall with whatsoever poor, ia
exchange for , and therein the king may do his will.
Further, moreover, the wood of Derby by these bounds • From Bra di stone in
Hargunkar as far as, by the midst of the kar, to llassihurst, and so to where Simita (?)
goeth out of the grove [iVemore] to Longlegh, winch stretches from Derby into
Kyrkeby, and bo beyond Lougleh into Mikkyll brok, and ascending from Mikkyll
brok to Blokbrok, ascending from Blukbrok into Thrountborne-dale-brok, and 1
ascending to the plains. And the men of the place [ Vioum] have common and herb
and other things in the aforesaid wood, and the men of Derby have all necessaries
in the aforesaid wood.
Also, moreover, Bubton Wode by these bounds, to wit : From Hnrdiiti to Souky,
and from Eaveslache to Bradclogh broke j so that William Pincerna [Butler] and his
heirs may have common of pasture for their cattle in store [§tamnm] t and peonage
for their swine, and timber for their castle and buildings, and for bun
Further, we the jury say that Croxtath Paejc was put within poles after the coro*
nation of King Henry your grandfather, and belongcth to Knouselegh, to the heir <
Robert bod of Henry ; and ought to be disafforested according to the tenor of 1
Carta do Foresta.
We further say that Altekab was put within pales after the coronation of Jung
Henry your grandfather, and belongs a certain part to the viH of Ines [Xnoe], and to
Ramsmelis, and to Fornoby, and to Holand, and to Lydgato, and ought to be dis-
afforested.
Also we say that the v ill of Halis [Hale] it was shown that your grandfather the
king took an un fenced part of it from the wood after his coronation, from Flaxpolia
to Quyntehriohe, and the king gave the said vill of Halis in entirety with its appur-
tenances to Richard do Mide by his charter of forest, and that it ought to be disaf-
forested according to the tenor of the Carta de Foresta.
Also we say that Syicoitosb Wodk was inclosed with pales after the coronation of
King Henry your grandfather, and belongs to Kyrkeby, to the heir of Richard, son
of Roger, and ought to be disafforested according to the tenor of the Carta de
Foresta, Ac. — (Lansdowm MS8. Cod. 559, fo. 55, s.s.)
Chap. VI.] THIRTEENTH CENTURY LAW-MAKING. 61
1154). The penalty for killing the king's deer was no longer to
be loss of life or limb ; but fine or imprisonment. Freemen might
have within their own woods aeries of hawks, sparrow-hawks,
falcons, eagles and herons ; and also the honey found within their
woods.
Edward I. (whose reign includes the years 1272-1307), has
been justly styled our English Justinian ; and Sir Matthew Hale
affirms that more was done in the first thirteen years of his reign
to settle and establish the distributive justice of the kingdom than
in all the ages since that time put together. He established, con-
firmed and settled the Great Charter and the Charter of the Forest;
greatly limited the bounds of ecclesiastical jurisdiction ; defined
the respective limits of the high courts of jurisdiction ; settled the
boundaries of inferior courts in counties, hundreds and manors;
abolished arbitrary taxes and talliages, levied without consent of
the national council ; relinquished the royal prerogative of sending
mandates to interfere in private causes ; regulated the system of
fines in the Court of Common Pleas ; established a repository for
the public records ; instituted watch and ward, for preserving the
public peace, and preventing robberies ; reformed many abuses as
to tenures, and removed some restraints on the alienation of
landed property, by the statute of " Quia Emptores ;" instituted
a speedier recovery of debts, by granting execution on lands as
well as on goods and chattels ; provided for the recovery of advow-
sons as temporal rights; stopped the alienation of lands to the
church by repeated statutes of mortmain; established a new
limitation of property by the creation of estates- tail ; and he
reduced all Wales to the subjection not only of the crown but in
a great measure of the laws of England. — (FlintofPs Rise and
Progress of the Laws of England.)
In the 6 Edward I. (1278) 45 amongst the statutes made at
* A preceding statute — that entitled " Extents Manerii," haying especial reference
to the subject of this book — is reserved for a separate notice. (See chap. x. post.)
It was passed 4 Edward I. (1276).
MAMECE8TRE.
[Ciup. VI.
Gloucester was the one entitled of M Quo warranto," so named from
the writ issued under it, requiring all prelates, earls, barons ami
others, and all claiming liberties, to show to the justices how and
in what manner, and by what authority or warrant — " quo war-
ranto" — they held them. If they did not appear before the
justices, the liberties were to be seized into the king's bands till
they showed their right to them. If they appeared and failed to
show a just claim, the liberties passed from them to the king.
The liberties specified as examples in the statute are view of
frank-pledge or courts-leet, right of taking toll, &c.
On the t^th November (7 Edward I.) 1279, was passed the
statute of mortmain, the preamble of which recites that notwith-
standing the late provision (Magna Carta of 9 Henry TIL cap. 26)
that no land should be given in mortmain [dead-hand, t.e, to any
religious house]— the practice was continued, and religious men
entered into fees, without license and will of the chief t
whereby the services due from such fees were wrongfully with-
drawn, and the chief lords lost their escheats of the same ; and
the statute enacts that no land shall be alienated iu mortmaitlj
upon pain of the forfeiture thereof to the chief lord.
The statute of merchants, or of Acton Burnel, where it w
made 1:1th October 1283 (11 Edward I,) required a merchant's
debtor to make an acknowledgment of the debt before the ma
of the city, which, if he failed to pay the debt on the day fixed for
payment, authorised the sale of his moveable goods, chattels, &c.,
and in default of goods, the debtor to be imprisoned till he or his
friends make agreement to pay the creditor ; who, if the debtor
cannot maintain himself in prison, is at his cost to provide bread
and water; to be repaid for this when the debt is paid.
The second statute of Westminster, Easter 1285 (13 Edward I.)
made various enactments as to the transfer of real property, ei
cially as to gifts in tail, the rights of wives, remedies for the
usurpations of advowsons of churches, providing writs for peculiar
eases, masters' remedy against servants, indictments before sheriffs'
tourn*, the process on an action of waste, wardship, lord and
Chap. VI.] THIBTEENTH CENTURY LAW-MAKING. 68
tenant, lands whereon crosses are set up to be forfeited as mort-
main, rape, distress, juries, fees of the officers of justices in eyre,
usurpation of commons, taking of salmon, and many other matters
of various importance, and of strangely diverse nature.
The statute of Winton or Winchester, made 8th October 1285
(13 Edward I.), in six short chapters, enacts the pursuit of felons
and robbers from town to town, making the county answerable if
they be not taken; fixing at what hours the gates of great towns
shall be shut, and when the night watch shall begin and end;
prescribing the breadth of highways from one market town to
another, and the removal from their sides of bushes and under-
wood, where a man may lurk to do hurt ; regulating what arms a
man is to keep according to the quantity of his lands or goods ;
requiring bailiffs, &c, to follow the hue and cry ; and prohibiting
fairs and markets from being kept in church yards.
The third statute of Westminster, named from its first words
" Quia emptores terrarum," made in 1290 (18 Edward I.) enacts
in three chapters that the feoffee shall hold his land of the chief
lord and not of the feoffor; that if part of the land be sold, the
services due shall be apportioned ; and that no feoffment shall be
made to assure land in mortmain.
Two statutes of quo warranto, made in 1290, explain and amend
that of 1278; among other things providing, in order to save
expense, that all pleas of quo warranto are to be determined in
circuit, and all pleas then depending to be adjourned into their
own shire till the judges come.
The last statute we shall notice is that of confirmation of the
Magna Carta and the Carta de Foresta, made 1297 (25 Edward I.),
which declares that all judgments given contrary to the said
charters shall be void; requires that both charters shall be read
to the people in all cathedral churches twice a year ; enacts that
aids and taxes granted towards wars, &c, of the good will of the
people, shall not be drawn into a precedent or custom ; and that
no aid or prise shall be taken by the king but by consent of the
realm, and for the common profit thereof; and — many having
64 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. VI.
found themselves sore grieved with the king's toll of forty shillings
for every sack of wool — the king releases that toll, and grants that
he will not take it again without the common assent and goodwill
of the people. Such was the body of beneficent legislation, the
product of a single century.
65
CHAPTER VII.
KNIGHTS' FEES AND SEEVICE.
TESTA DE NEVILL.
Fully to comprehend the nature of the military service, and of
the knight's fee, fief or feud (feodum), it is necessary to look to
the tenure of lands introduced by William the Conqueror. Two
laws passed by this first of our Norman kings, with the consent
and advice of the great council of the realm, had great influence
on the state and nature of land tenures. First it was ordained
that all freemen (owners of land) should engage and swear that
they did become vassals of William, and as such would be faithful
to him, in respect of the dominion residing in him as lord, upon
the recognized feudal notion, and that they would, thus becoming
his vassals, everywhere faithfully maintain and defend his terri-
tories, title and person, and give him all possible aid and assistance
against his enemies, foreign and domestic. — (Leg. GuiL Cong. sec.
52.) Another law, passed in like manner, ordained that all free-
holders should, agreeably to their duty as vassals, hold themselves
always ready to perform their service due to their lord, which was
expressly declared to be knight-service on horseback. — (lb. sec.
58.) This law also declared that all such freemen should hold
their lands, agreeably to the feudal grant of them by the king,
in hereditary right.
It is clear from these laws that all freemen were at that time
owners of land ; and these laws at once converted almost all lands
(all being held by freemen, either lords or vassals) into hereditary
feuds, and all the owners were thenceforth bound to render knight-
service to the king. Hence all land came to be held, either imme-
diately or mediately, of the king. Knight-service had all the
MAMECEiSTRi;.
VTI.
marks of a strict and regular feud. It was granted by words of
pure donation, was transferred by investiture or delivery of
corporal possession of the laud, usually called "livery of seis
and was perfected by homage and fealty. Its proper service waa
to attend the king in his wars. And, as the lords were bound to
bring with them a certain number of armed followers, to this
purpose they generally found it necessary to parcel out portions
of their lands amongst their retainers^ to be held of themselves by
the same military tenure as that by which they themselves held of
the king. To make a tenure by knight-service, a determinate
quantity of land was necessary, which was called "a knight's
fee;" 46 and he who by such sub-grant held this proportion of
land (or a whole fee) by knight-scrviee, was bound, if called upon,
to attend his lord to the wars for forty days in every year; which
attendance was his return, rent, or service for the land he held. If
he held only half a knight's fee, he was only bound to attend
twenty days; and so on in proportion. Originally, it is supposed,
this was the only service consented to by the freemen, or the
council for them ; but subsequently were introduced, as the con-
sequences of this tenure, various regular appendages of the feudal
system, chiefly these seven, — aids, relief, primer seisin, wardship,
marriage, fines for alienation, and escheat. This is not the pla
to notice two other kinds of land tenure, — soceage, or freehold
* A knight's fee (feodum mililarej was so much inheritance as waa sufficient yeorlj
to maintain a knight with convenient revenue; which temp, Henry III. was 15/.-
( Camden's Brit.) Bat Sir Thomas Smith (in hb Repub, Angl.) rates it at 4o£., and by
the statute for knights (1 Edward TI. cap. i, 1307-8) such as had 20Z. per annum in
fee, or for life, might be compelled to be knights ; which statute waa repealed f-
1 7th Car. L cap. 20, Stow, in his Annah, says there were found in England at the time
of the Conquest 60,111 knights* fees ; whereof the religious houses before their su]»
sion were possessed of 28,015. According to the Monant. AnyL eight carres of hind
make a knight's fee; but again it is naid that a knight's fee contained twelve plough-
lands (2 Inst. fol. 596) or 6K0 acres. Cowell says that a yard -land contain,
four acres, four yard-lands made one hide, and five hides made a knight's fee, w
relief was 5 J. But we are relieTed from reconciling these discrepant quantities 1
raluea by the statement in the ZMfl of Lancashire itself (p, 408) that '*iu
tltis count y twenty-four carres [or plough-lands] make one knight's fee*"
Cuai-. VII ] KNIGUTS' FEES. — TESTA DE NEVILL.
G7
and tenure in villenage. The number of knights 1 fees in a
barony or in a manor, and the various fragmentary portions into
which, by sub-infeudation, a single fee was carved out amongst a
number of sub-feudatories, led to the necessity of each chief lord
of the fee keeping a sort of record or list, enumerating the several
entire fees and parts of knights* fees in his lordship, and this
document was called a feodarium or fvothmj. Amongst the most
ancient of these feodaries are two old books of record in the
King's Remembrancer's Office of the Court of Exchequer, called
the Testa de Nevill^ 7 or Liber Feodorum^ which contain an account
as to the whole of England, of fees, of whom held, and of what
value i of serjeanties, widows and heiresses whose marriages were
in the gift of the king; churches in the gift of the king, and in
whose bands they were ; escheats, in whose hands and by what ser-
vices holden ; and the sums paid by tenants for scut age, aids, fee,
These books appear to have been compiled (excepting the original
portion, the Testa de NeoiU proper) near the close of the reign of
Edward II, or the commencement of that of Edward III. (say
about 13^5-1330), partly from inquests taken on the presentments
of jurors of hundreds before the justices itinerant, and partly from
the injunctions upon writs awarded to the sheriffs, for collecting
scutages, aids, &e. As the printed volume is accessible, we present
a translation only of so much of this ancient record as relates
chiefly to the hundred of Salford, so as to include the greater part
of the ancient barony of Mamecestre. It is necessary, however, to
bear in mind that the entries in the printed copy from the old
Testa de Nevill (written temp. Edward L) are to be distinguished
from those in the compilation written perhaps twenty years later,
yet all bearing the same general title, and not very clearly sepa-
rated. The printed Testa is arranged in counties, and co. Lancaster
is given in two distinct parts of the volume, viz, two pages (371-
372) in one place, and sixteen pages (396-411) in another. The
former contains little in relation to our subject ; the latter begins
«J So named from its supposed compiler, Kalph do Nevill, an accountant in the
exchequer and collector of aids in the rei^n of Henry III.
MAMECESTRE.
. VII
with the more recent compilation, and gives, under separate titles
or headings, the fees of the great holders of estates in Lancashire,
and their sufa-infeudations, as found by the inquisitors under each
hundred or wapentake respectively. The head w De Testa de Nevill 1 '
[proper] occurs first under Lancashire, p. 401, and is immediately
followed by a second head, intimating that an inquisition of the
county was taken by the oath and fealty of seventeen knights, as
to tenements given and alienated under the Lime in co, Lancaster.
The knights were Roger Gerneth 1 de Burg*, Robert de Lanca-
Adam de Mideltou, Richard de Burg', Walter son of Osbert,
Walter son of Swane, William de Wynewic, Richard son of
Swane, Richard son of Robert, William Blundel, Robert de
Anielcsdale, Richard de Orhull, Richard de Perpont', Alan de
Rixton, William de Radeclivr, Alexander de Pilkington, and
Henry de Trattbrd. 48 This jury of knights appear to have com-
menced their inquisition in the north of the county, and to I
proceeded southward ; and it is not till they iuquire respecting the
barony of Pen wort ham that the name of any Greslet occurs,
"Robert holds three "carves in Burnhull and Anderton, and two
carves in Eston, all of that barony." Under the next head, w Oren-
gagia/* occur a number of entries, relating to the Greslets, by the
Christian names of Robert, Robert that now is, Albert, Albert jft
or Senior, and Albert JnvenL* or Junior. Though it is impossible
DO every case to assign rightly the three Christian names used,
amongst the Greslets; we think it is clear that this feodary
a These knightd' names enable us to approximate the date of this inquisition.
Roger Gernet in 1207 gave sixty marks to have all the bailiwick of the king's forest
which William Gemot, his brother, had. —Walter, eon of Osbert, in no I gave the
king a palfrey to have his land of Saleswio. — Walter, son of Swane, was a surer
another in 1201. — William de Wynewic in 1201 gave the king ten marks and two
palfrcys^to have thirty acres of land in Thorinton. — Richard, son of Swane, with two
others gave twenty marks and a palfrey to have twelve oxgangi of land in Goosnargh*
Alan do Rixton joined others in a gift of forty marks and a horse for the eba
ixoo, — In the same year William de Radeclive gave ten marks to have an inquiry*
In 1205 Henry de Trafford gave twenty shillings for hi* relief of half a carve of land
in Trafford. — These facts appear to limit the date of the inquisition of Lancashire
within the ilrtt few years of the reign of John, » ioo~ 1 *o-.
CfiAh. VII.] KNIGHTS* FEES —TESTA DE N'EVILL. 69
includes entries of five Greslets, barons of Mamccestre, beginning
with Albert seiiex, the third baron, and ending with Robert,
P seventh baron. The next head under which the name of Greslet
occurs is a singular one — "In this county twenty-four carves
make one knight's fee." To this succeed various heads of ser-
jeanties ; and the last head under this county is again " De Testa
de NeviU." None of ita entries, however, come within the scope
of this work* The subjoined are selected entries under the heads
specified. The modern names of places at the beginnings of
paragraphs are added to facilitate reference : —
TESTA DE NEVILL.
Co. Lancaster. — Salfoki* [Iimired.
Bichftrd di i Hilton [Hulton] 18 holds the wapentake of Sal for dsh ire in
serjejint j M itt the will of the lord the king, — (fol. 372.) Inquisitors 61
49 This Richard de Hulton was probably a younger son of Jarvertb, and father of
David, who inherited Ilulton from bis uncle Robert. Richard seems to have had a
grant from Edith de Barton (with consent of her husband, Gilbert de Notion) of
lands in Barton held of her by his father Jarverth. — (Vide Testa de JVVr*7/, pott.
*uh Barton.) In the 32 Edward I. (1304) a Richard de Hilton had a grant of freo
warren over Hilton [Hulton] and Ordeahale. — (Cal, Rot. Chart, fol, 135.)
m Serjeanty (serjeantia) signifies in law a service that ennaot be doe from a tenant
to any lord, but to the king only ; and this U cither grand or petit serjeanty. Grand
serjeanty is a tenure, whereby one holds his land* of the king by aueh services as he
ought to do in person to the king at hia coronation ; and may alao concern matters
military (as to bear the kings banner or spear, or lead his host), or servieea of honour
in peace, as to be the king's butler, carver, Ac. Petit serjeanty ia where a man holda
lands of the king, to furnish him yearly with some small thing towards his wars, as
sword, dogger, bow, Ac, j and in effect payable as rent. — (Jacob.) The serjeanty in
the text was a civil service of honour, — the charge of the hundred or wapeutake of
Salford. In the t John (1 199) Elia*, son of Robert, held the wapeutake in serjeanty j
and in the 17 John (1215-16) John, son of Elias, gave the lord the king forty marks
(idl. 13*. 4J.) and two hunting horses [CtwiNrw, pro Chascuria] to have confirma-
tion or charter of the serjeanty of Bedfordshire.
61 From this point to the end of the entry under the head of Lindsey, every cutty
in the printed copy of the Testa occurs twice, not from any error of the press, but
because folios 785 to 795 of the original MS. are copied (uot verhatim t but in a some*
what abridged form) in folioa 795 to 802 of the same MS. Feodary. This duplication
enables us to correct literal errors iu local and personal names ; following in the text
70
MAMECESTRE.
[Chap. VII.
of the wapentake of Salefordeshire : Award TftgUHj Halph do Ilanekotes
(Anekotes) [Aneoats], 53 Kichard de Cbolretun < Chorlton), Eobert de
Cbolreton. Robert de Foriswrtir (Snisworth) [r 8hnresworth] w William
de Ecclesiis (Ecclis) Thomas de PuL — (Fol. 397.)
Brm\ Adiun de Bury htdds one knight's fee in Bury, of the
the earl of Lincoln, and he of the earl of Furors, and he in chief ot
lord the king, and it belongs to the dower of the countess 1
Middleton. — The heir of Robert de Midelton holds our b
fee in Midelton of the said fee, and it belongs to the d<>
countess.
z
the first and fullest entries, and putting variations found in the abridged and dupli-
cate entries within parentheses*
M See note on Ralph de Emeeote, under Mamecestre, post.
M A Robert de Shoroaworth was a witness to a deed of Agnes, daughter of Gt
do Barton. A Robert de Scoresworlh witnessed a quit-claim of William, son of
William, clerk, of Eceles {another of the inquisitors named in the teit) of lands in
Eccles to the abbot of Stanlaw. A Robert de Soriaworth was a juror on the inquisi-
tions of 1281 as to the possessions of Robert Greslet, seventh baron.- — (Dr,
Keuerdcn's MSS, in Her. Coll.) There was a messuage and sixty acres of land
appertaining in the township of Pendlobury, and in the manor of Ordsal, which bore
the name of Soresworth or Shoresworth.
w This knight's fee in the township of Bury shows how tenures existed. Its occu-
pier held of the carl of Lincoln, probably as part of the honour of Cttthcroe, held by
the Lacics. They in turn held of the Ferrers, who were chief lords of the county*!
and the Ferrers in turn held their possessions directly of the king. But the para*
graph in the text states that this knight's fee in Bury (and we see there were two
others in Middleton and Chaderton) formed a portion of the dower of some countess,
apparently living at the time of the record. This lady was Margaret, daughter and
coheiress of Robert de Quiney, by his wife Ilawise, fourth sister and coheiress of
Randle Blundevillc, earl of Chester and Lincoln, who in the distribution of his hinds
and honours gave her the latter earldom ; so that her daughter Margaret was
countess of Lincoln in her own right. Henry III. by patent of 23rd November 1232,
granftad to few r hmihmnfl John da La v. and his beiri by Margaret, the 1 iUf of eari ol
Lincoln. It was their grandson Henry de Lacy who was the last and greatest man
of his line. He died in February 1310, aged sixty years. This Adam de Bun
deed without date gave to Henry, son of Gilbert de Rediyales, an acre of land lyin
near Podeks {?), Denebrok, between the Duui planes and Bex tarns ike, with all 4
ments to the vill* of Walmersley and Robboles belonging, for the yearly rent of a
penny at the feast of St. Oswald, for all secular services. By another dateless deed
John, son of Hugh de Newbalt, quit-claimed to Sir Adam de Bury and heirs all the
land of Newbald and three acres within the bounds of Bury, in a certain place called
Bradeley. — (Tlr |
Chat. V II] KNIGH TS" FEES, — TESTA I»E N E V I LL.
71
— Gilbert de Wartmi (Barton) holds a fourth part of
a knight's fee in Haderton (Chaderton) of the said fee, and it belongs
of the countess.
Pendleton. — The heir of Eichard de Hilton (Hultou) holds a sixth
part of a knight's fee in Penilton of the fee of the Earl of Ferrars, and
he in chief of the lord the king.
Thb Fees of Thomas de Ctretlet. 6 *
Babton, — Gilbert (de) Barton holda one fee and half a kni*rht*8 fee
in ti rillj, of the fee of Thomas de (iretley. nad lie of the fee of
' arl de Ferrars, and lie in chief of the lord the king. M
■ This was Thomas de Grcslet, sixth baron, whoso baronial life may bo limited by
the years 1231-1262.
M The sub-infeudation is here again shown. Was this Gilbert Barton the same
with Gilbert de Not ton or Newton, who, in a subsequent part of the Testa de Neville
is said to hold in Barton, with the lady of Barton, a knight's fee and a half in dren-
gage? Nothing was more common than for on individual or a family, on settling in
a new home, to drop the name of their old and assume that of their now estate or
abode. A Richard Ilukon (? the same who held the hundred of Salford in serjeanty)
had a grant of the lauds in Barton, of Edith de Barton, by the consent of Gilbert de
Cotton (co. York) her husband. Did Gilbert de Notton become do Barton, by
marrying Edith de Barton, u the lady of Barton ?" We think reference to a few
deeds of Barton very badly transcribed in an abridged form by Dr, Keuerden, will
furnish ground for believing that such was the fact. By deeds without date Gilbert
de Barton, son of William de Nodeu (? Notton or Newton), gave to P, de Dumplington
a parcel of land called '* Cockney," for a yearly rent of 1 2d, at Pentecost, which was
by another deed reduced to 6i. Then Agnes, u primogenito" [Vie] daughter of Gilbert
do Barton, quit-claims to Robert Gredley, all the right in Barton, and nil its members
which had been her mother's, Edith [or Cicely] de Barton, and her brother John's.
Whom Agnes married does not appear, but she had a daughter Loretta. Some obscure
deeds show that Gilbert de Barton conveyed the manor to Aaron, son of Josias (?)
(Jocij) Jew of York, who re-conveyed it to Gilbert for life, with remainder to John,
son of Gilbert, and heirs ; then to Agnes, sister of John j then to the right heirs of
Gilbert. This seems to indicate that John, son of Gilbert, dying without issue,
Agnes became sole heiress. There is a curious but imperfect dee<l by which John,
son of Gilbert de Barton knight, gives to Robert de Greile, lord of Mamecestre, the
homage and service of eighteen persons named. By another deed he gave to Robert
Greile lands and a mill in Barton, with a fishery in the Irwell. Then John, son and
heir of Gilbert de Barton, quit-claims to Roger [ne, ? Robert] Greile all his right,
Ac., in all the manor of Barton, with all the hamlets belonging to the manor, vis.
Aspull^ Brunsop, Halton, Haliwel, Brighorde, Farawortb, North den, Eccles, Monton,
MAMECESTRE.
Witiiingtox. — Matthew <le Hftvetteg' holds •
Wvt hint on of the said I
C»um>wam„ Pa&bold and Wbighttxgtoh. — B I
Mertricb, West wood, Witliington, Newhain, Irwilham, Bromihurst, Hulinc, Dum-
plington, Quitlewick and Cromplon with Boterword ; with the homages Mid aerviees,
aa well of the free tenants as of the villeins ; and all the land whieh Cicely [or Edith]
held in dower in tin- vill of Barton. There is also an impel the grantor of
which is ■ Cecilia qui fuit uxor Gilberti de Barton." In 1 345 John la War re, lord of
.Maineeestre, and Joan hu wife (Thomas Greslet* s sister) gave to Thomas, son of
Robert del Both, thirty acres of pasture in Barton ; and in 1365 Roger la Warre, lord
of Mameccstre T granted to Thomas del Both of Barton all lands which bad been 1
of John, son of Gilbert de Barton*
*7 This name Haversege is probably Haver-sack, i.e. a bag for oats, which were
called Havers, So an oat-cake was calWl a haver-cake, and there is an old MS. recipe
for drawing any living insect out of the ear, which in modern English reads 1 * Take
a hot haver-cake, and lay it down, and lay thine ear thereon as hot as thou canst
thole [bear] it, and if there be sheep-louse or any other quick thing in it [the ear]
it shall soon creep out." Among the Drengage tenures in the Testa de Xertlt, •
Matthew [? de Haversege] and a Roger, both sons of William, held a knight's fee of
Robert Greslet in Witliington of old tenure; their service being to find a judg<
the king. This Matthew de Haversegh qt Haversege, by a dateless deed, gave to
Richard, son of Henry do Hondforth and hit heirs, lands in Wyddyngton. He also,
by a Hke deed, granted to Geoffrey do Rosden iha-r lands in VVii
Hortredus de Brabcry held. In one of Dr. Keuerden'a MS3. he is called Matthew de
Staversides. In the Pleas de Quo Warranto and Rageman, before Hugh de Cres-
eingham and his associates, justices itinerant, at Lancaster, in the octave of I
Trinity, ao Edward I. (1292) John de Langeford showed a charter of 33 Henry 1(1.
(1148-9) which witnessed that King Henry granted to a certain Matthew do Hal
thegg, great grandfather [proavo] of John, and to his heirs, free warren in all
demesne lands in their manors of Hathershegg, Barleburgg, Kynwaldsmere and
Hobtn' in 00. Derby and their manors of Witingtou and Diddesbiry in co. Lane.
&o, And he says that Oliver his father (?) and predecessor, died in seisin of the said
warren. — {Rot, 5 d. p. 377.)
m This Robert is not easily identified, the pedigree of the family not having been
carefully preserved. That given in Barnes's Lancashire (vol. iii. p. 479) is erroneous*
A notice of the family (p. 478) is also full of inconsistency. In the 13 John (111 i-ta)
Richard, son of Robert de La thorn, held five and a half carves of land of Robert de
Grelle (fifth) baron of Manchester. Albert Greslet (Juceni*, fourth baron) had given
to Robert, son of Henry de Lathora, two oxgangs of land in Anleaark by 3*. '* and
his heir has that land," — (Dr. Keuerdcn's MSS. in Her, Coll.) These give us three
fenerations of the Lat horns, — Henry, whose son Robert (? the same as in the ti
was the father of Richard.
Chap. VIL] KNIGHTS' FEES.— TESTA DE NEVILL. 78
holds one knight's fee in Childewale (Childewelle) and a fourth part of
a knight's fee in Parbold (Probold), and three parts of a knight's fee in
Wrothinton (Wrottingeton) of the said fee.
Eumwobth. — Richard le Perpund holds a third part of a knight's
fee in Bumheworth', of the said fee.
William de Worthinton holds half a knight's fee in the same (vill)
of the said fee.
Soger de Pilkinton* 9 holds a fourth part of a knight's fee in the same
(yfll), of the said fee.
Likdsst. — Thomas de Gretley [sixth baron] holds in Lindeshey
[? co. Lincoln] in (of) the honour of Lancaster, six fees and a third
part of a knight's fee and a twelfth part of a knight's fee, in chief of
the lord the king. — (Fol. 397.)
These are the knights' fees of the honour of Lancaster under the
body of the county : — Of Thomas Greley five fees and a half.
(Fol. 400.)
William de Karleton and William de Clifton 00 collectors, render
their account of the aid of assise and the collection in this county : —
Thomas de Greley [sixth baron] renders an account of eleven
marks [7Z. 6*. &?.] for five fees and a half. In the treasury ten marks
by the collectors ; and he owes one mark [13*. 4 dJ\ — (Fol. 400.)
Buhnhull A3STD Ajtdebton. — Bobert Gredle 81 holds three carves
of land in Burnul and in Anderton, of the same barony [Penwortham],
and does no service. — (Fol. 403.)
» Thi§ Boger was probably the ton of Alexander, lord of Pilkington. Boger had
free warren in Pilkington in June, 19 Edward I. (1291). His eldest ton was Sir
Boger, knight of the shire in 1355.
* William de Clifton, the ancestor of the Cliftons of Clifton, held ten carves of
land in Amonnderness in the 42 Henry ILL (1257-8), and was collector of aids for
Lancashire. — (See Family Pedigree.)
« Though this Bobert is spoken of as then holding, the Feodary makes a distinc-
tion between two Bobert*, the latter of whom is called "the Bobert that now is."
Wanting this addition, the Bobert in the text may be the second baron (1 100-1 1 35)
and not the fifth (1182-1230).
L
74
MAMECESTRE,
[Cuav. \ J I
Eston. — The same Eol>ert de Gredle holda two carves in Eston
of the^sanie barony, and ought to render therefor yearly one gos-hawk
[austurcum] or 20*. ; but he doth not render, 63 — (Fol. 403.)
Dees gages. 63
Bobert (xredle^ holds twelve knights' fees in the county of Lancas-
ter** under the Lime and without. 6 * — (Fol. 404.)
Within QTOtf. — (Of which) Matthew, son of William, and J>
aon of William, hold one knight's fee of Bobert Gredle in Wythin^ton
from of old timet and (from of old) ought to and one judge for the lord
the king.
m There is considerable confusion as to the meaning of the word Austvrcum. Du
Cange tells us that Papist translates Atturco^ both " Aeeipiter-mojor" or "Aitar* 1
(? the great or gos-hawk) and "Equus ambulator," or an ambling pony, or palfrey*
The equivalent value in the text, we think, shows it to be a hawk, and not a h
Austurcus, Austur, or Astur, some naturalists distinguish from the Accipiter-majorj
but on the whole, looking rather at old deeds than at scientific nomenclature, we
believe this to be the female gos-hawk, used in taking the pheasant, mallard, wild-
goose, hare and coney. Dr. Hibbert-Ware suggests that the name of tho holder of
these two carves in Eston is an error : that it should be, not Robert de Gredloy, but
Bobert de Eston, If so, then tho name of the holder of lands in Burnhull and
Anderton of the barony of Pen worth am, should also be Robert de Eston.
** Drengage (drengagium) from the Anglo-Saxon dreng, a soldier, a man, is the
tenure bj which the Drengea or Drenches held their lands. These (Drengfy were
tenants in capitc, who, according to Spelman, being put out of their estates at the
Norman Conquest, were afterwards restored thereunto on their making it appear that
they were the owners thereof, and neither in auxilio or consilio against bun ; in short
that they had stayed at homo to till their lands, and had not fought under Harold at
the Battle of Hastings, or otherwise resisted the Conqueror. (See note 8 p. 19 ante.)
For a full account of the facts related by Spelman, see Dti Cange in voce Drench.
** From this point to the end of the Montbegon fees, pp. 404-405 in the printed
Testa, foil. 822-815 in the M9. } the entries are re-copied in a condensed form, p. 404
fol. 839. As before, the variations shown by the second copies are given within
parentheses in the text.
m The enumeration of fees which follows, including Robert Greslet's own five and a
half fees in Mamecestre, gives a total of about twelve fees.
• Lime or Lyme is probably from Limes, a bound or limit, a border or frontier, «
boundary or landmark, In some parts of this Feodary estates are spoken of as "in
the body of the county/' and where lands are stated to be "without the lime," ihry
appear to be in some other county. The other form of the word Line or Lyne may
be from /«•*«, a line, bound, or division mark. — (See n<
p. 37 1
Cmr. VII.] KNIGI1TS' FEES.— TESTA DE NEVILL.
75
Gilbert de Newton holds with the lady of Barton one knight's I
and half of the same [Robert]* And Thomas de Within^ton holds
one knight's fee and a half (half a fee) of the same Bobert, from
of old ih\u\
Chilian all, Asfull, Tueton, asd Bkociioles. — Kichard, son of
Robert, holds five carves and a half of land of the same [Robert Gredle] ;
to wit, in Childewalle (Childewell) three carves of land. And in Aspid
(Aspel) one carve. In Tnrton one carve. In Brochar (BrokhaT) half
a cane. Wherefore six and a half GSTVBfl of land make one knight's fee,
llvKLwuoiK — Boger Jo Samlesbur* (Sailesbur') and Alex* [de Haro-
wodo] hold six carves in Harewode of the aforesaid knight's fee.
Daltox, Parbold and Wim(;htinotox. — Albert de Gredle sencs
[? ll 35" f I( 56] gave one knight's lee to Orine, son of Ailward, in mar-
riage with lus daughter, to wit in Dolton and Parbold and Writtinton
i I >:ilton, Parebolde and Witt'rington) . The heirs of the said Orrae hold
the said land.
Pilktnutox. — Alexander de Paknigton [? Pilkington] holds of
Robert Gredle a fourth part of a knight's fee and [finds] one judge for
ltd the king, of ancient tenure.
Hivinoton and Lostock. — Albert Gredle juveni* [? 1166-1182]
gave to Thomas de Perponte (Peton) three carves of land in lluwinton
and S by the fee of a third part of one knight. The heirs hold
laadi
M \ \m i-stke. — Egbert Gredle that now is 67 gave to Robert de
Bury (Beri) the elder, fourteen oxguigt of land of his lordship [or
demesne] of Mamecestre, by the service of half A knight's fee (half a
od fourteen oxgangs). His heirs hold that land.
The same Robert [Gredle] gave to Ralph de Emecote 68 two oxgangs
of land ol* liis lordship [or demesne] of Mamecestre, by 6s. 8d. yearly.
Albert Gredle [? third or fourth baron] gave to Robert de Brace-
brugge two oxgangs of land of his lordship [or demesne] of Mameeestre
by 4*, yearly. Ilis heirs hold that land.
*7 Probably Robert the Mb baron {1 181-1230).
m Can this surname be the same with Aneotes ? In a deed without date but before
1 130, Robert Greslct {fifth baron) gave to Ralph de Aneotes, the land of Aneotes fat
his homage and service paying half a mark yearly (6*. &d.) This seems very like (ho
same grant and the same jranteo. — (See Keuerden's AfSS. in Her* Coll. toL iti.)
76
MAMECESTRE.
[Chap. VII.
Albert Gredle senior [? n 35-1166] gave to Wliiric [P Ulric] of
Mamecestre four oxganga of land of his lordship [or demesne] by 5*.
yearly. His heirs hold that land.
Albert Gredle gave four oxganga of land to the church of Mamecestre
in alms, of the demesne [or lordship].
Heatox. — Albert Gredle juvenis [? 1166-1182] gave to William
Noreua [Norrea] two carveB of land in Heton by tos. [? yearly], Hia
heirs hold that land.
Little Leyee. — The same Albert [Gredle] gave to Alexander, son
of L f moeh, two oxgangs of land in Little Lofre by half a mark [6>. 8d*]
and 12 d. or one eyas hawk [nisum].*' The heirs hold that land.
Urmhtott. — Albert Gredle senior [? 1 135-1166] gave to Onne, sod
"t Eward [Aylward] with his daughter Emma in mar irve
of land in Eston by 10*. yearly. The heirs of Orme hold that land. 70
Flixton. — The same Albert gvre to Henry, son of Siward, one carve
of land in Fikton by 10*. [f yearly]. The heirs hold that bod
Sliveiiall. — Albert Gredle junior [? 1 166-1182] gave to Elyas de
Pennilbury Slivehalle by 12J, or by one eyas hawk [nisuni] vearlv The
same Elyas holds that land. 71
Milafcsiiarh. — The same Albert [Greslet junior] gave to Bobert,
w JNfjw (q4* a neya*> or more correctly an eyas) is a term Applied usually to the
young sparrow-hawk, and occasionally to the young merlin or other hawk, newly
taken out of the nest. Sparrow-hawks are of five sorts, — Ej/a*e* or ifyw**,
branches, soars, mewed and haggards. Eyases are mewed in the wood, and are taken
in the ©yry.— {Gent. Recreat.) Dueange soys the Nisu* is a young hawk, snatched
from the neat and carried home, and usually sailed a Niai* (i,e, an eyas or eyeas).
Its value, as shown by Albert Greslet's {jtwenis) grants to Alexander Fit**Umoch
end to EHas of Peuhulbury, was only tweWepencc.
7" By a deed without date, Albert Greslet grants to Roger, son of Orme and his
heirs, all the land of Hois tune [? Eston], with all appurtenances and all Osoluescrout
[? Oswald's eroft J, and all Heton, with all appurtenances, &e,, to bold of me end my
heirs as the same Roger held of my father, and lor the same service, to wit, for
Haistuu 20*. or one soar-hawk [aceip. sorum], and for Heton in like manner 20*.
Witnesses : R. do Merci [? Mersey a], John de Ancotes, Ralph de Bimn, Robert 1
of Seifrid [or Siward], Robert son of Henry, Geoffrey Gresle, William de Med
[P Meneya], Barnard Gresle, — (Dr, Keuerdeu'e M8S. in Herald's Coll. London,
t ol. iil fol, k. 6 b.)
71 It appears from a MS. of Keucrden that Elias de Pendlebury held Sure Hall in
the 11 John (taio-ti).
Chip. VII.] KNIGHTS' FEES.— TESTA DE NEVILL. 77
son of Henry, two oxgangs of land in Milafesharh by 3*. [P yearly].
His heir holds that land.
Chapples [Shabples]. — Soger de Samelisburie and Alexander de
Harewode hold one oxgang of land in Chappies by [a rent of] 3*. of
Eobert Gredle. — (Pol. 404.)
Wythacres. — Albert Gredle gave to the monks of Swineheued
one croft which is called Wythacres, in alms. 78 — (Fol. 405.)
Mucecsstbe. — Eobert Gredle that now is gave to Aca the clerk
one land [unam terram] of his demesne of Mamecestre by 38 P The
same Aca holds that land. — (Fol. 405.)
[The Montbegon Fees.]
Soger de Montbegon 74 holds eight knights' fees under the Lime and
without. (Of which) under the Lime holds Adam de Bury one knight's
fee of ancient tenure. Roger de Midelton holds one knight's fee of
ancient tenure. 76 The predecessors of Roger de Montbegon gave to the
ancestors of Gilbert de Notton twelve oxgangs of land by the service
of the fourth part of one knight's fee. Gilbert de Notton holds that
land.
Alk[e]ikgtok. — Adam de Prestwyche holds four oxgangs of land
in Alk[r]inton by 4*., of ancient tenure. 76
ToTrnroTOK. — Adam de Montbegon gave to Eward de Bury four
oxgangs of land in Totinton with Alice his daughter in marriage.
71 For a notice of the monastery of Swinehead, 00. Lincoln, see p. 35 ante,
71 In all probability "unam terram" should have the word "bovatam" in its
midst. In Sharpies an oxgang of land paid 3s. to the lord, and the rent of this land
granted to Aca the clerk is 3s.
74 The Montbegons were barons of Hornby. There were two persons of this
Christian name, one the father of Adam de Montbegon (see under Tottington), living
in 1 1 31 5 and the second Roger was grandson to the first. The fees "without the
Lime" were probably in Lincolnshire, where the Montbegons had possessions.
74 In 1323 Roger de Midelton held the manor of Midelton, of the royal manor of
Totington. He also held " a hamlet called Bolton," and an oxgang in Chetham. He
left five daughters coheirs, Ellen, Matilda, Alice, Margery and Margaret.
74 Adam de Prestwioh married an Alicia, and their only child and heir was Alice,
who married Thomas Walmsley. He levied a fine of the manors of Agecroft and
Pendlebury, temp. Edward II. (between 1308 and 1327). He held ten oxgangs in
Prestwich and Failsworth.
78
MAMECESTRE.
[Chip. VII.
And now that land is held by William de Peuieston with Ci<
daughter of the said Alice.* 7
Pekdleton, — Marferth de Hulton (Jarnord de Hilton) holds four
oxgangs of land in Feunelton of the lord the king in chief by service of
iht* sixth part of one knight's fa
Elyas de Pennilburie holds one oxgang of him Mnrferth by 4*,
Gilbert de Notion holds in right of his wife [? Edith de Bn
fourteen OXgaogl of the lord tlie king in fltMUflffl l>v 26a, 79
Kichard de Wyrkedele [Worsley] OVynewilte) [r Winuick] holia
one carve of the same Gilbert by 16*, 8d. m
17 In the 19 Edward L (1 301) a William Fenyton kud grant of Tree warren in
Peny ton, 00. Lane. — {CaL Mot. Charts fol. 1 30). ? Pennington, in the parish of L
78 The Christian name of this Mult on is variously written Jorveth, Jorverth,
Jarnord (as in another part of this Feodary) Marreth, Reinfridus, Yarfridus, Yarwit,
Yarwrittue, «&c. Ho lived in tbfi reigns of Richard I. and John, and the latter king
by charter (dated Mom, 10th October, first year of his reign, 1 199) gave him the town
of Penhulton, co. Lane, in exchange for other lands he had grantt-d him when earl of
More ton or Mortaigne, In the CaL Mot Chart. (foL 5) he is stated to have held in
1 199 the vill of Pendleton in exchange, Barton and the wood of KereahalL
T 9 This tenure requires a few words of explanation, Though, as already slated, it
is impossible to identify the localities or names of the twenty-two berewickt men-
tioned in Domesday as belonging to the hundred of Salford in the time of King
Edward the Confessor, then held as manors by as many Saxon thanes, — we may
enumerate various townships of a later time, as not unlikely to have been of these
ancient berewieks. There is reason to believe that when Roger de Poietou held the
greater part of the hundred of Salford, he allowed a number of the small Saxon pro-
prietors near Mamecestre to retain their estates by the tenure of tbanage or dreugage?
and in this Feodary, and other records of the twelfth and thirteenth oenturies, we
find free tenants, some bearing Saxon names, holding their land " antiqua fcenurft," or
in thunage, or in drengage. Such thanes, drenges, or small holders were seated in the
townships of Barton, Clifton, Cliorlton [Chorlton-cum-IIardy], Chetham, Eccles,
fails worth, Hulton, Huhne, Middleton, Monton, Notton or Newton, Pendlebnry,
Pendleton, Pilkington, Frestwiofa, RadclkTo, (?) Salford, Traffbnl, Withington, and
Worsley. These were possibly the sites of nineteen of the twenty-two Saxon here-
* * l Elias Gigas," or Elizeus, the founder of the family of Worsley, is said to have
held the manor of Workeslegh or Workedlegh as early as the Conquest. But this
can only be tradition, as there is no mention of Workedley in the Domesday Survey
The following account of this Elioa is given in Ilopkinson's MS, Pedigrc** of the
North Siding of Yorkshire : — ** Tlii* Eluis was seised of the manor of Workesley,
Chap. VII.] KNIOnTS* FEES.-TESTA DE NEVILL.
79
I
CasSEAJC. — Eoger (Adam) de Midtdton holds one carve of land in
Chetliam, in chief of the lord the king, in than age by one mark [13*. +d.]
de Chetham holds all that land of the said Roger,
[Sekjea^ty,]
CADisnEAJ). — Edwin [the] Carpenter held one oigang of land in
Cadwalesate (Cadwalsete) [Cadwallshead] in chief of the lord the king
of the gift of King Henry in carpentry/ 1 ami afterwards Swane held
Ifltodi Ami ElOU that land is held by Gilbert lie JN r otton, paying to
the king 5*. ; but they [the jurors] know not of whom or by whom that
land has been alienated from the Bemoe of the lord the king.
Kiyinoton. — Alexander de Pilkinton 62 holds six osgangs of land in
Ruhwinton in thanage by 10*. And the sons of his mother's brother
hold that land of him.
I Edge wort ji and Heaton. — William de Radeelive 83 holds twelve
oxg&ngs of land in Eggewrth' and in Heton in thanage by 1 6s. 8 J.
now Worsley, about the Norman Conquest, anno 1066. He was of such strength
and valour that he was reputed a giant, and in aid scripts is often called Elias Gigas,
He fought many duels, combats, &c., for the love of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and
obtained many victories." Knnbor adds that ho died at Rhodes, and there lies buried.
His son and heir was Richard Workedsloy. The Richard of the text was son of
Geoffrey do Workedly, one of the feodaries under Gilbert do Notion in the 5 Richard
I. (1193-4).
m Carpentry is one of the many forms of petit serjeanty ; by this tenure the holder
was bound to do carpentry work for the king.
n This Alexander was the sou of Alexander, aud grandson of the Leonard who
fought at the Battle of Hastings. His tenure in thanage shows him to bo a Saxon
proprietor, He was living in 1262 mid 1278. — {Rivington Book and MS. Pedigree),
m In the 6 Edward I. (1278) a William de RadecHve was deputy to Theobald
Walter, high sheriff of Lancashire. The same William was one of the knights who
were of the inquest of the county, — (Testa de Nevtll, fol. 401). He also held by 6#.
a carve of land of the fee of Handle Fita-Boger's heir, a ward in the custody of
Eustace Fitz*Moreton, for the king. He was probably the same with the individual
called "The great William, 1 ' lord of Edgeworih and Oswaldtwiael, who became seised
of Culchcth in the 20 Edward I, (1292) in right of his wife Margaret, one of the two
daughters aud coheiresses of Gilbert do Culchcth. Ho is also mentioned in Birche's
MS* Feodary as holding the manor of Radcliffe, by yearly homage and service for
ward of Lancaster Castle, at the term of St. Start in, is, 6d. rent at the four terms,
and by a service of one-half and one- tenth part of the fee of one knight.
80
MAMECESTRE.
[Chip. VTX
Gilbert de Notton holda four oxgangs of the 3aid William by half a
mark [6s. Bd.]
The father of this William gave to Robert de Hennetwiael [Entwiile
two oxgangs of land in mai h his daughter. 84
PfiEBTwicn ami Failsworth. — Adam de Frestwyehe holds ten
oxgangs of land in Prestwyehe and in Faileswrth', in chief of the lord
the king in thanage, by 24*. 85
Adam de Heton holds uf this Adam four oxgangs by 10$,
Gilbert de Norton holds of thirf Adam two oxgangs of land in Failes-
wrth* by 4*.
Blackrod, — Hugh de Blakerode 88 holds one carve of land in
Blakerode, which was of the fee of William Peverel, by 20*. And he
has a charter of the lord the king.
P£kdlebitry and " Chadeswbthe." — Elyas de Penllbur' holda
nine oxgangs of land in chief of the lord the king in Pennilbur and in
Chadeswrthe [? Shoresworth] in thanage by 12$. And Eichard
Adam and Henry and Eobert, his nephews or grandsons [nepotea] hold
one oxgang of him by a*, 87
M A Simon Radeelive, supposed to be the uncle of the William mentioned in i
preceding note, demised lands in KadecluTe for a term of years to Henry de Oswald-
twisel.
w There were three Adams in succession. The firafc was the son of Robert, who
died about 1205. The second is said to hcivo settled at Quickelswiek about 1300*
The third was living in 1313 or 1314, and was dead in 1322. The Adam of the text,
besides what be bold iu Prestwieh and Fatlsworth by thanage, also held four oxgangs
in Alkrington, by 41. of ancient tenure ; so that this was in all probability one of the
Saxon families still holding land in Lancashire, (See also note 76 p. 77).
m In the 1 John, 119 9, a Hugh le Norris (».e, the Norwegian) had a charter for a
carre of land in Blakerode : and somewhat later, Hugh de Blakerode held a car Ye of
land in Blakerode, which bad been of the fee of William PeYcrel. In tl;
Hugh leNorreifl paid to the king two murks {il. 6*. Sd.) and two chascurs [? chat-
ceor* t horses for the chase] for a confirmation of bis title ; and this is doubtless the
charter named in the text.
* This Elyas seems to be the descendant of another of those Saxon thanes or
drenges who were allowed hy the Conqueror to retain their lands. Chad's-wo
[P Shoreswortb] appears to have been in or near Pendlebury. The tenure is th
and the four relatives of Elyas hold one oxgang of him as sub-feudatories. On
ninth of bis rent for nine oxgangs (12*.) would be is. 4^,, but he takes a rent «
2*. for the severed oxgang.
Chap. VII.] KNIGHTS' FEES. — TESTA DE NEVILL. 81
Cliftok. — Robert de Clifton holds four oxgangs of land in Clifton 88
in chief of the lord the king by 8*.
Soger Gerneth [Garnett] holds of this Eobert three oxgangs by Bs. 89
Riyixgton. — "William, son of William, holds twelve oxgangs of
land in Ruhwinton in thanage by 24*.
Reddish. — Roger, son of William, holds one carve in Rediche in
thanage by 6s. Matthew de Radiche holds that land of this Roger by
the same service.
Choblton. — Gospatric de Chereleton holds two carves in Cherleton,
in chief of the lord the king, in thanage by 20s. 90
Matthew, son of William, holds of the same [Gospatric] four oxgangs,
which he had sown [disronavit] by the end [or fine or limit, Jinem] of
the war.
Henry de Trafford holds five oxgangs of land by 6s. 3d. 91
Adam de Chorelton holds of this Gospatric two oxgangs by 41^.
Henry de Chetham holds four oxgangs in chief of the lord the king
in thanage by 5*.
Senry de Trafford holds four oxgangs in chief by the same service.
William de Bothelton [Bolton] held one oxgang in chief of the lord
the king in fee-farm. His heir is in the custody [or wardship] of the
lord the king. — (Fol. 405.)
A Robert de Clifton was knight of the shire in 1382.
9 Can this Roger Gerneth be Sir Roger Gernet of Halton, who was hereditary
forester of Lancash i re in fee, and held by serjeanty in right of that office a forge
within the forest, the lands by advowson of Halton, lands in Lee, Burgh and Fishwic,
a fishery in the Ribble there; the advowson of Prescot, and lands in Eccleeton,
Whiston, and paramount rights in Speke P He was of a Norman family, the younger
son of Vivian Gernet, and brother and heir of William Gernet.
90 This is not Ghorlton-on-Medlock, but Chorlton-cum-Hardy, one of the ancient
ehapelries within the parish of Mamecestre. Gospatric was probably a descendant of
the Saxon thane or drenge (P Cheorl) who held Chorlton-Hardy in the Conqueror's
reign. This Gospatric gave one-fourth part of Chorlton to Henry, son of Robert, son
of Henry de Trafford, for homage ; he also gave one-eighth of Chorlton to his brother
Adam de Chorlton, and to the Abbey of Cokersand a certain part of his land in
Chorlton and in Bexwick in pure and perpetual alms.
M This Henry de Trafford also held four oxgangs for 5*. yearly, whether in
Chorlton or Chetham is not clear from the Testa. In the 12 Edward I. (1284) a
Henry de Trafford had grant of free warren in Trafford and Stretford. — {Col. Rot.
Chart, (ol 113).
M
83 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. VII.
Tonge. — Gilbert de Tange holds one oxgang of the lord the king in
Tange by 4*.
Handle, son of Roger, held four carves in chief of the lord the king
by 10*. and one judge. His heir is in custody [or wardship] of Eustace
de Moreton by the lord the king. 92
"William de Notton holds one carve of him the heir, by 8*.
William de Radeclive holds one carve of him the heir, by 6*.
Adam de Urmeston holds one carve of land of him the heir.
Soger de Bothelton holds one carve of the same by the service of the
twelfth part of one knight. — (Fol. 405.)
Serjeanty.
Steetfoed. — Hamon de Macy holds one carve of land in Streteford
by the service of [finding] one judge.
Hugh de Stretford holds four oxgangs (one carve) of him Hamon,
doing him the service of a judge.
Henry de Stretford holds two oxgangs of land of the same, by 4*.
Xeesall. — The Prior and Monks of Lenton [co. Notts] hold Kere-
shale 93 in alms, by the charter of the lord the King Henry [II.] —
(Fol. 405).
Withington. — Adam de Iseni holds five carves of land in "Wything-
ton by military service, which he gave to Gilbert, son of Beinfrid.**. —
(Fol. 406.)
» A Eustace de Moreton in 120 1 gave fifteen marks (10Z.) for a charter. He held
three knights' fees in Lincolnshire, of the honour of Peverel of Nottingham. — (Bat,
de Oblat. vol. i. p. 168.)
93 For an account of Kersal Cell or Hermitage, and the grant of it to the priory of
Lenton, co. Notts, with the charter of confirmation of Henry II., see Dr. Hibbert-
Ware's History of the Foundations of Manchester \ toI. iv. pp. 17, 1 8, 21 and 22.
94 We arc unable to trace Adam de Iseni. There was a family of Iseney or Isney
in co. Lincoln. As to Gilbert the son of Beinfrid, he may be the same with a
" Gilbert, son of Roger, son of Beinfrid," who held four carves of land in Tarleton
and Benthum, and four in Preston and Holme, and two in Burton, with a market at
Warton, all in co. Lane. — (Cat. Sot. Chart, p. 6.) In the court rolls of 6 Bichard
L (1 194-5), at Lancaster a day was given to Gilbert, son of Beinfrid, and the monks
of Furness, in a plea as to their cattle. In the court rolls of 1 John (1 199-1200) in
some proceedings at York, respecting the church of Clifton, Gilbert, ton of Beinfrid,
Chap. VII.] KNIGHTS' FEES. — TESTA DE NEVILL. 83
In this county twenty-four carves make one knight's fee —
(Fol. 408.)
Seejeantt.
Henry, son of Siward, three oxgangs and a fourth part of one judge.
Bobert de Middleton by service of one judge. — (Fol. 409.)
Sebjeantt without the Lime.
William de Gresle [holds] Drakelawe [co. Derby] by one bow
without string and a quiver [pharetra] of [arrows] and twelve
arrows and one [buzon ?]. 95 — (Fol. 409.)
Sebjeanties bented by Eobebt de Passelewe,
temp. hekbt, sox of klng john.
Of those lands which William de Ferrars and Agnes his wife 96 hold by
declared that the advowson of that church belonged to him. In other court pleas at
Canterbury are named " Gilbert, son of Beinfrid, and Beinfrid his brother." In the
fine rolls of the year 1 200, under the head Lane. " Gillebert son of Beinfrid, gave the
king 100/. and two palfreys, for the confirmation of his charters and to have new
free court, gallows and pit." In the same rolls (1201) he gave thirty
marks for (?) scutage. He held three knights' fees, one of the honour of Lancaster
and two of Westmoreland. He also gave thirty marks when he went into the forest
with Osbert de Longchamp. In 1 204 he gave five palfreys to have confirmation from
the king and grant of the custody of the land of the heir of Oliver de Aincourt, which
with the marriage, had been granted to him by the bishop of Norwich. In 12 15
u Gilbert, son of Beimfrid," is mentioned with respect to a demand of ten marks. In
1 2 16 Gilbert, son of Beinfrid, fined to King John, in 12,000 marks (8,oooZ.) to have
the king's benevolence and grace ; having been confederated with the barons hostile.
to this king ; and that William de Lancaster his son, and Ralph de Aencurt' and
Lambert de Busay, his knights, might be delivered from prison, Ac. Dated at
Berwick 22nd January 12 16. — (Rot. de Ob. et Fin.) William de Lancaster, the son
just named (by Gilbert's wife Helewise, daughter of William de Lancaster, second
baron of Lancaster by tenure), assumed his mother's name "de Lancaster," and on
the death of Gilbert (son of Roger Fitz-Reinfrid) his father, in 12 19, obtained the
barony of Lancaster. He died about 1 246, without issue.
* In the 2 John (1200) William earl of Ferrers held Drakelaw and the service of
William Greseley, to wit, one bow, one quiver, and twelve arrows. — (CcU. Rot.
Chart, fol. 11.) It is probable that this William Greseley was one of the Derbyshire
family, and not of the Lancashire Greslets.
* Handle de Blundeville sixth earl of Chester, who in 1228 had confirmation from
Henry III. of all his lands between the Bibble and Mersey, and was made chief lord,
84 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. VII.
serjeanty of Saleford and of Clayton, and of Newsam, — nothing;
because they have for them a charter and a writ of the lord the king.—
(Fol. 410.)
Serjeanty changed into Knight Service.
Thomas Greyley 97 holds five fees and a half in Mameceatre, with
soke, from of old time [de antiquitate, i.e. of ancient tenure.] 98 —
(Fol. 411.)
From the necessary digressions of this and the preceding
chapter, we return to the affairs of the Greslets. Robert the fifth
under tho king, of the whole county of Lancaster, died without issue in 125 a, and
his whole inheritance was shared by his four sisters. Agnes, the third sister, married
William earl of Ferrers (and also sixth earl of Derby, being the sixth in lineal descent
from Robert de Ferrers, raised by King Stephen to the earldom of Derby for his
prowess at the Battle of the Standard. The heirs of the first earl of Derby were
usually called earls of Ferrers, though they were likewise earls of Derby.) This
Agnes, besides manors, a castle and lands in other counties, had of inheritance in
Lancashire the manor of West Derby, and all Earl Handle's lands between the Kibble
and Mersey. In the 8 Henry III. (1223-4) this William earl of Ferrers was consti-
tuted governor of the castle and honour of Lancaster, the next year he was sheriff for
three parts of the year, and again in the 10 and 1 1 Henry III. (1226-7). In addition
to 50;. for the relief of the lands of his wife's inheritance, he and she were bound to
render yearly a goshawk or 50*. into the king's exchequer, as had been usual for the
lands lying between the rivers Kibble and Mersey. In the 26 Henry III. (1241) he
gave a fine of iool. to the king for the livery of the three hundreds of West Derby,
Leyland and Salford, which had been seized into the king's hands for certain misde-
meanours of his bailiffs. This earl died 20th September 1247, and his countess
survived him only one month, they having lived together, man and wife, seventy-
seven years!
9? This entry appears to form part of the sheriff's return to a letter from Sir Hugh
de Pateshull, treasurer of the lord the king, and others of the king's barons of the
exchequer, to Simon de Thorneton, sheriff of Lancashire, respecting the knights' fees
held of the honour of Lancaster. Simon de Thorneton was joint sheriff of Lancashire
temp. Henry III. in all the years 1 234-1 242, and Hugh de Pateshull appears to have
been treasurer of the exchequer from June 1234 to 1240. These limits show that
the Thomas Greslet in the text was the sixth baron (1 231-1262).
98 Other entries in the Testa de NeviU show that Thomas Greslet, sixth baron,
held three fees in Lincoln and Notts ; three and a half in Norfolk ; and in all twelve
fees in Suffolk.
Chap. VII.] KNIGHTS' FEES. — TE8TA DE NEVILL. 85
baron, who obtained the chartered fair in 1222 and 1227, was in
the former year excused by Henry III. the payment of 61. for one
year's castleward of Lancaster," due to the Honour for the twelve
knights' fees which he held ; inasmuch as he had served with the
king in the army of Newark. In the same year he was sent with
the earl of Essex and H. de Nevill to the forest of Clyve, to watch
the movements of Richard Surward and other malefactors. In
1228-9 the king confirmed to Randle de Biundeville, sixth earl of
Chester, all his lands between the Ribble and the Mersey, and
Randle shortly afterwards conferred on William Ferrers earl of
Derby, who had married his sister, the town and wapentake of
Salford. Previously, about 1230, earl Randle had granted a charter
to his burgesses of Salford ; to be noticed hereafter. Robert Greslet
married a daughter of Henry de Longchamp, brother of William
de Longchamp, chancellor to Richard I. He died in 1230 or 1231,
in his fifty-sixth or fifty-seventh year, leaving one son and heir,
Thomas, sixth baron, who was probably in his minority, as his
investiture is not recorded. By an inquisition post mortem
Robert de Gredley was found to have held " twelve knights' fees,
in the county of Lancaster, infra limam et extra."
Of Thomas, sixth baron, little is known. He seems to have
been a true Norman seigneur, in his passion for the chase. There
is little record of events under his rule. He married a lady named
Christiana Ledet or Ledette. The chief fact of his life, while he
held the barony, was his obtaining a grant of free warren over his
demesne lands in Lancashire and Suffolk in the year 1249. It is
supposed that he was one of the barons who resisted an aid sought
99 Castle-ward {Castle-gardum, vel Wardum Castri) is an imposition laid upon
such persons as dwell within a certain compass of any castle, towards the maintenance
of such as watch and ward the castle. (See Magna Carta, capp. 19, 20; 30 Henry
VIII. cap. 48.) In this county all the freeholders under the earls and dukes of Lan-
caster were liable to pay, in respect of one or more knights' fees, or parts of fees, so
much for castle-ward to the castle of Lancaster ; from which service (for the money
was doubtless a commutation of actual service) they were exempt when attending the
king in his wars, on the ground that their actual military service to the king for the
time released them from the lesser duty to the lord paramount.
86 MAMECESTEE. [Chap. VII.
of parliament by Henry III. to enable him to carry on his expensive
war in Gascony and a projected expedition to the Holy Land ; such
resistance being punished by the forfeiture of the malcontents'
lands. This is probably the explanation of the escheat of Thomas
Greslet's lands of Mamecestre and Horewych forest, in the 38
Henry III. (12,53-4). Subsequently parliament made a money
grant, on condition that the king would renew his oath of adhesion
to the Magna Carta and the Carta de Foresta; from which Henry,
at the prompting of the pope, had declared himself absolved.
Fearing probably another escheat of his possessions, if he again
manifested contumacy, Thomas Greslet was found among those
barons who obeyed the king's summons to join him at Chester in
an expedition against the Welsh, who had overrun Pembrokeshire.
This was in 1 259, and his obedience was rewarded by the appoint*
ment, in the following year, of warden according to some, but,
according to the official record, of " Justicier" of the king's forests
south of the Trent. For this office, it is probable, his intimate
knowledge of forest law would to some extent qualify him. Refer-
ring the reader for some account of his infeoffments to pp. 39, 40,
ante, we come to the consideration of the royal grant to him of
free warren.
87
CHAPTER VIII.
GEANT OF FEEE WAEEEN TO THOMAS
GEESLET, SIXTH BAEON.
The term "warren" (from the Anglo-Norman garen or garenne, a
place kept, from garder to keep) denotes either the franchise or
incorporeal hereditament, or the place itself in which, by prescrip-
tion or grant, the lord of the manor is privileged to keep u beasts
and fowl of warren ;" as hares, coneys, pheasants and partridges.
The origin of this feudal privilege is traceable to the Conquest. 100
The earlier Norman kings were passionately fond of the chase ;
and their forest laws vested the sole property of all game in the
king alone. No man was entitled to disturb any fowl of the air, or
any beast of the field, of such kinds as were reserved for the
amusement of the sovereign, without express license from the
king, by a grant of a chace or free warren ; and these franchises
were granted as much with a view to preserve the game, as to
gratify the grantee. The extent to which the severity of the
forest laws was carried in the reign of King John, with the devasta-
tion and depopulation resulting from " afforesting" or converting
peopled districts into forests of chace by a wholesale eviction, were
amongst the provocations to insurrection, which induced the
barons and chief feudatories to band together, and ultimately to
obtain from that king the great charter of English liberties,
" Magna Carta," and from his son Henry III. the "Carta
Foresta," which at that period was only second in value to the
great charter. Of the great oppressions of the forest laws some
idea may be formed from the following chapters of Magna Carta :
47. All forests that have been made forests in our time [temp. John]
100 The forest law of Canute, a.d. 10 16, has no reference to warrens.
88 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. VIII.
shall forthwith be disforested ; and the same shall be done with the
banks that have been fenced in by us in our time.
48. All evil customs concerning forests, warrens, foresters, and war-
reners, &c, shall forthwith be inquired into in each county by twelve
sworn knights of the same shire, chosen by creditable persons of the
same county ; and within forty days after the said inquest, be utterly
abolished, so as never to be restored.
In the fifty-third chapter there is also reference to " disforesting
the forests which Henry our father and our brother Richard have
afforested." The Carta Foresta was made at Westminster 10th
February 1225 (9 Henry III.) and confirmed in 1299 (28 Edward
I.) We have noticed its principal provisions in chapter vi. p 59
et seq. Incidentally it confirms to those having warrens "the
liberties and free customs which they have had."
As to the position which "free warren" held amongst forest
franchises, Manwood in his Forest Laws (cap. i. sec. 5) says that
" a forest is the highest franchise of noble and princely pleasure;
next in degree unto it is a liberty of a frank chace ; the diversity
between a park and a chace is that a park is inclosed, and a chace
always open ; the last in degree is the liberty or franchise of &free
warren Every forest comprehends within it a chace, a
park, and a warren Hence the killing, hurting, or
hunting of any of the beasts or fowls of chace, park, or warren!
within the territory of the forest, is a trespass of the forest, and to
be punished by the laws of the forest only, and not by any other
law."
Blackstone, in his Commentaries, includes in " franchises'' the
right to have a forest, chace, park, warren, or fishery, endowed with
the privileges of royalty. A forest in the hands of a subject is
properly the same thing with a chace, being subject to the com-
mon law, and not to the forest laws. But a chace differs from a
park in that it is not inclosed, and also in that a man may have a
chace in another man's ground as well as in his own; being
indeed the liberty of keeping beasts of chace or royal game
therein, protected even from the owner of the land, with a power
Chap. VIII.] FREE WARREN, a.d. 1249. 89
of hunting them thereon. A park is an inclosed chace, extending
only over a man's own grounds. To constitute a legal park, the
king's grant, or at least immemorial prescription, is necessary. It
is unlawful at common law for any person to kill any beasts of
park or chace 1 except such as possess these franchises of forest,
chace or park. Free warren is a similar franchise, erected for
preservation or custody (which the word signifies) of beasts and
fowls of warren, 9 which, being fens natura, every one had a
natural right to kill as he could ; but upon the introduction of the
forest laws at the Norman Conquest, these animals being looked
upon as royal game and the sole property of our savage monarchs,
this franchise of free warren was invented to protect them, by
giving the grantee a sole and exclusive power of killing such
game, so far as his warren extended, on condition of his preventing
other persons. No man, not even the lord of a manor, could by
common law justify sporting on another's soil, or even on his own,
unless he had the liberty of free warren. This franchise has
almost fallen into disregard since the new statutes for preserving
the game, the name being now chiefly preserved on grounds that
are set apart for breeding hares and rabbits. There are many
instances of keen sportsmen in ancient times, who have sold their
estates, and reserved the free warren, or right of killing game, to
themselves ; by which means it comes to pass that a man and his
heirs have sometimes free warren over another's ground.
1 These are properly buck, doe, fox, martin, and roe j but in a common and legal
sense extend likewise to all the beasts of the forest ; which, besides the deer, are
reckoned to be hart, hind, hare, boar, and wolf, and, in a word, all wild beasts of
Yenery or hunting. — (Coke on Littleton, p. 233.)
1 The beasts are hares, coneys, and roes ; the fowls are either campettre*, as par-
tridges, rails, and quails ; or tylve&ret, as woodcocks and pheasants ; or aquatUes,
as mallards and herons (Coke on Littleton, p. 233). Grouse are not birds of warren.
Manwood, on the other hand, (Forest Laws, cap. iv. see. 3), states that there are
only two beasts of warren, the hare and the coney ; and but two fowls of warren, the
pheasant and the partridge. Buctaus saith that the beasts and fowls of warren are
such as may be taken with long- winged hawks or hawks of prey, which are the hare,
the coney, the pheasant and the partridge ; for a warren is but a place privileged for
beasts and fowls of warren only, and for no more.
N
90 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. VIII.
It is not lawful for any man within this land to make any chace,
park, or warren, in his own freehold or elsewhere, to keep or pre-
serve any wild beasts or birds of forest, chace, park, or warren in
it, without the king's grant of warren so to do. — (Manwood.)
To come to the grant of free warren to Thomas Greslet. Dr.
Hibbert-Ware supposes that over the lands of the barony there
was liberty of the chace by ancient prescription. It is certain that
great part of the northern portion of the barony was woodland or
forest. He thinks that this grant of free warren was sought in
order to obviate any dispute as to the privilege from the newly-
created earl of Lancaster. This is a reasonable solution of the
matter. A few years ago the writer was favoured with a loan
of some documents, muniments of the Mosleys, as lords of the
manor of Manchester, and amongst others was an official copy of
the record of this ancient grant, signed "William Ulingworth,
deputy keeper of the records, 27th February 1818." The original
record runs thus: —
(Inter Recorda Curiae Cancellarise in Turn London: asservata,
scilt : in Rotulo Cartarum de anno regni Henrici tercii tricesimo
tcrtio, membrana 3*, sic continetur: — )
Carta De SStaremta f REX Archiepis &c. Sattm. Sciatis nos
P 2T$oma ffitealeg. X concessisse £ hac carta nra confirmasse
dl f fi nro Thome Gredley qd ipe f heredes sui in ppetuum
heant lib 9 am warennam in omb} dnicis ?ris suis de Mamecestr, in
comitatu Lane. £ de Wyllanesham in comitatu Suff: ita qd nullus
intret tras illas ad fugand: in eis vt ad aliquid capiendu quod ad
warennam ptineat sine licencia f voluntate ipius Thome vi heredum
suo^ sup forisf*ct 9 am nram decern libra*. Quare volum9 et firmit?
plcipimus p nob f heredib} nris qd ipe, f c ut s\ Testib} Jolle de
Plessetis comite Warrl, Johe Maunsel, pposito fiev)t: Rado fil
Nichi, Paulino Peyor, Ro£o de Monte Alto, Robto de Ros, Rofeto
de Mucegros, Johe Exf neo, Rado de Wauncy, Robto le Norreys,
Nicfto de Staunford, Stepfto Bauzan f aliis. Data p manu nram
apud Wodes? xxiij die Julii anno r. n. xxxiij.
Chap. VIII.] FREE WARREN, a.d. 1249. 91
(Among the records of the Court of Chancery, preserved in the
Tower of London, to wit, in the roll of charters of the thirty-third
year of the reign of Henry III., in the third skin, it is thus contained:)
Charter of 928atren for f The King to the Archbishops, &c., greet-
3Tf)0tttad ©retfifp. 3 I ing. Know ye that we have granted, and
by this our Charter confirmed, to our beloved and faithful Thomas
Gredley, that he and his heirs for ever may have Free Warren in all his
demesne lands of Mamecestre, in the county of Lancaster, and of
Wyllanesham in the county of Suffolk, so that no one shall enter his
lands to hunt or chase [fuyand:] in them, or to take any thing [or
creature] which belongs to Warren, without leave and license of him
the said Thomas or his heirs, upon our forfeiture of 10Z. 4 Wherefore
we will and strictly command, for us and for our heirs, &c., as above
[#. e. in the first grant of Pree Warren on the skin, written at full
length.] These being witnesses : — John of the Parks, Earl of War-
wick ; 5 John Maunsel, Provost of Beverley ; fl Ralph, son of Nicholas ;
* There seems to be some discrepancy in date between the public records. It is
stated in the text that this charter was granted on the 23rd July, in the 33 Henry III.
1249. But there is an entry in the Abb. Rot. Orig. under the date of the 34 Henry
III. (which regnal year began 28th October, 1249, and closed in October, 1250), to
the effect that Thomas Grelle gave to the king twenty marks (13/. 6s. %d.) for a charter
of warren, and to hare acquittance of the seal. So that the lord the king should not
take a larger sum [amplius] neither for the seal nor the fine.
4 This prohibition by charter and the penalty of 10I. were needed in this case,
a* some persons seem to hare trespassed in pursuit of game over the lands of the
lord of the manor. For in the pleas of assize at Lancaster in the 30th Henry III.
(1245-6) John de Blaokburne, Richard de Alreton and Hugh de Whaley, acknow-
ledge that they had no right of hunting (Jkgandi) in the forest of Thomas Grelle,
without his licence and will [voluntate]. — Keuerden's folio MS. p. 282.
* The first witness to this grant, "John de Plessetis," or of the Parks (from the
Norman plesseiz, park), was a Norman, and apparently a knight of the king's house-
hold, serving in the wars in Ireland and Wales. He advanoed rapidly in favour ; was
appointed governor of Devizes, warder of Chippenham Forest, and sheriff of Oxford ;
and, having married in 1243 Margery, sister and heir of the earl of Warwick, and
widow of John Mareschall, seventh earl, he styled himself in her right, earl of War-
wick. In a notice of this grant of free warren in the proceedings of the Historic
Society of Lancashire and Cheshire (vol. iv. p. 48), the abbreviation " Warr' " was
mistakenly supposed to be Warenne. In the 28 Henry III. (1243-4), he was ap-
pointed constable of the Tower, and in the thirty-fifth year (1 25 1), amongst six justices
92 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. VIII.
Paul Peyor' ; 7 Eoger de Montalt, 8 Robert de Eos, 9 Robert de Mucegroe, 10
assigned to hold the pleas of the city of London, which were usually tried before the
judges itinerant, the name of "John de Plessetis, earl of Warwick," stands second.
This is the only time in which he appears in a judicial position, and he held it then,
no doubt, in his character of constable of the Tower, where the sittings were to take
place. After attending the king into Gascony, he was treacherously seised by the
people of Pontes in Poictou, notwithstanding a safe conduct from the king of France,
and cast into prison, whence he was not released till the following year. He died
February 26, 1 263, 47 Henry III. — (Foss's Judges of England, vol. ii. p. 442.)
6 (Page 91.) The second witness, John Maunsel, provost of Beverley, was a re-
markable man. He was the grandson of Philip Maunsell, who accompanied the
Conqueror into England. He rose rapidly in favour of Henry III. From being one
of the king's clerks or chaplains, he was appointed in July, 1234, the chancellor of the
exchequer, being the first to fill that office, then newly created. He was twice keeper
of the great seal, and was one of the greatest pluralist* ever known, his highest minis-
terial dignity being that of provost of Beverley (1 248). Some assert that he held seven
hundred benefices, producing eighteen thousand marks yearly [12,000/.] ; others limit
the number to three hundred, and the produce to four thousand marks [2666/. 1 3*. 4^.]
Amongst others, he held the rich rectory of Wigan, co. Lancaster, and the treasurer-
ship of the cathedral of York. In 1253 he accompanied William Bitton, bishop of
Bath and Wells, on a special mission to Spain to negotiate a marriage for Prince
Edward, Henry's eldest son. In 1256, at bis house in Tothill Fields, London, he
entertained the kings and queens of England and Scotland, prince Edward, and the
nobles and prelates of the kingdom : so numerous were the guests that he was com-
pelled to erect tents for many, and Stowe says that seven hundred dishes were scarcely
sufficient for the first course. He was on one occasion ambassador plenipotentiary to
the court of Rome, and a witness to the deed by which the pope transferred the
kingdom of Sicily to Edmund, second son of Henry III. He was styled by the
pope, " dilccto filio, Johanni Maunsell, Thesaurario Eboracensi, Capellano nostri;" so
that to other ecclesiastical offices he added that of being the pope's chaplain. In the
struggles between the king and the barons under de Montfort, Maunsel adhered to
his sovereign, and the result was that, from being one of the foremost men in the
realm, honoured with the confidence and esteem of the king and the pope, and living
in great pomp and splendour, his latest years were spent in exile, concealment and
obscurity, and it is even said that he died in want. To his other great qualities, he
added that of being a valiant soldier " in armis strenuus, et animo imperterritus 5*
and in a battle with the French in 1 242, he captured with his own hand a gentleman
of quality, named Peter Orige, after a close and well-fought combat.
7 Paul Peyore, or as he is elsewhere called Paulinus Peyvre, was (with William
de Cantilupe the younger, John de Gray, and Philip B asset t), by a patent of 28th
August, 26 Henry III. (1242) constituted one of the constables and military com-
manders of the king's forces in Poictou. In the 9 Richard III. (1385-6) the king
Chap. VIII.] FREE WARREN, a.d. 1249. 93
John L'Estrange, 11 Bobert le Norreys, 13 Nicholas de Stannford, Stephen
Bauzan, and others. Given by our hand at Wodest' 18 the 23rd day of
July, in the 33rd year of our reign. [1249.]
confirmed to Thomas Peyrre, kinsman and heir of Paulinos Peyrre, a market and fair
in his manor of Tudington, with free warren there of Hare, Chaunton, Wadelhowe,
and of Tinger, as well as of his park of Epho.
8 (Page 92.) Roger de Montalt took his surname from the chief residence of his
family on a little hill in Flintshire, then named Montalt (high meunt), but now Mold j
where his grandfather built a castle. Roger was the son of Robert de Monte-alto, and
held the barony under the earl of Chester. Roger early in life distinguished himself in
opposing the aggressions of David, son of Llewellyn, prince of Wales ; in 42 and 44
Henry III. (1258 and 1260) he was called upon with the other barons marchers, to
quell new insurrections of the Welsh ; and in the latter year he was placed at the
head of the justices itinerant into Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the neighbouring
counties. He died in 1260. — (Foss's Judges of England, vol. ii. p. 412.)
9 (Page 92.) Robert de Ros was the second son of Robert de Rob, lord of Hamlake
in Yorkshire, and of Isabel, the daughter of William the Lion, king of Scotland. His
father left him the barony of Werke in Northumberland, with the castle which he had
founded there, and a barony in Scotland. In July, 1234 (18 Henry III.), he was, by
writ, associated with the justices of the bench, and in the following month he was
appointed a justice on three itinera, one into Lincolnshire, another into York and
Northumberland, and the third into Lancashire. Three years afterwards he was
constituted chief justice of the forests in the northern counties ; and so continued
till 28 Henry III. (1244), when he, with John de Balliol, had a governance of Scotland
entrusted to him. When he died is not known. — (Ibid. vol. ii. p. 458.)
w (Page 92.) Robert de Mucegros, was a son of Richard de Mucegros, a justicier
for six years in the reign of John (1 204-1 210). Robert married Hellewise, the
widow of Hugh Poinz. — (Ibid. vol. ii. p. 98.)
11 John L'Estrange, or Le Strange, was one of the three sons of Guy le Strange,
(t. e. the stranger) who was supposed to be a youuger son of the duke de Bretagne, in
the latter part of the Conqueror's reign. One of the sons, also named Guy, was a
justice itinerant in 1x74 in Shropshire, and died between 1194 and 1199; and this
John was the grandfather of Roger le Strange, of Ellesmere, a justice itinerant in
the reign of Edward I. — (Ibid. vol. i. p. 307.)
B Robert le Norreys was probably a son of Alan and a brother of Alan le Noreis
(». e. the Norwegian) of Speke, co. Lane. He is named in deeds of 1277 and 1292.
u This grant was probably made at Woodstock, where Henry III. occasionally
resided ; and where he was visited by the King and Queen of Scotland in August
1256. [Alexander II. married the princess Joan, eldest sister of Henry III. in June
122 1. They appear to have remained with their royal relative at Woodstock only a
day and a night.] Always in need, and having been refused aid by his citizens of
London, or by the parliament, the king sold his jewels and plate to raise money, and
94 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. VIII.
Dr. Hibbert-Ware describes a grant and confirmation to Thomas
Greslet of free warren " in Mamecestre and Horewich." It is the
above grant, doubtless, to which allusion is made; for though it
does not name Horewich, there is no doubt that the forest of
Horewich was within the demesne lands 14 of Thomas Greslet in
his lordship of Mamecestre. This most distinguished and reliable
of our local antiquarian writers, adds : —
Thomas Gresley, in the spirit of the Norman Veneur, regarded the
forest of Horewich as the most valuable appendage of the manor of
Manchester. It is also rendered highly probable, from an examination
of manorial records, that the baron's chief residence was not at Man-
chester, but at a hunting seat, which he built for himself at or near
Heaton-under-the-Forest, for the sake of hunting and hawking upon
the grounds of Horewich.
As to the extent of woodland and forest over which this grant
of free warren gave its owner the sporting license of olden time, it
must suffice here to say that it covered several square miles.
Later muniments of the manor will give the estimated extent of
the forest of Horewich, elsewhere called Hopeworth ; the wooded
park of Blakeley ; the wood of Aldport, and the other neighbouring
woodlands, supposed by John W hi taker to be the remains of the
ancient forest of Arden, which covered the southern part of the
hundred of Salford, and which, he alleges, has left a trace of its
name in that of the hamlet or village of Ardwick. The old name
of that, however, was Athcrs-wic.
Upon a careful consideration of the subject, it appears to us
that substantially and in effect, though not in terms, this grant of
free warren 15 was one of forest. Manwood repeatedly affirms that
retired to Woodstock. In these circumstances, we think we see how the expensive
honour of feasting the royal visitors devolved upon that wealthy clerk, the provost
of Beverley.
14 Demesne, from the French demaine, which is derived from dominium, in its
widest and earliest sense signified " patrimonium domini," and may be regarded as
embracing all parts of the manor in the hands of the lord himself, or of his copy-
holders and lessees, excluding only those portions in the hands of freeholders.
u At the conference of all the justices and the barons of the exchequer at Serjeant's
Chap. VIII.] FREE WARREN, a.d. 1249. 95
a noble man, or a common person, may have a forest by especial
grant from the king or prince, under the great seal of England.
All the inhabitants (says this writer) within the forest of Lancaster,
being freeholders, did claim to be acquitted of all manner of vert,
and of regard, and of divers other things ; and this claim was
allowed of in eyre, by reason that John the earl of Morton, being
lord of the forest of Lancaster, did by his charter grant the same
by these words : — " Know ye me to have granted to all knights
and all thanes, and all free tenants who abide [manent] in my
forest of the honour of Lancaster, that they may," &c. By this
precedent (adds Manning) ye see that a grant was made unto a
commonalty and [held] good, &c. There ye see that a subject is
and may be lord and owner of a forest. — (Forest Laws, p. ,544.)
But it was essential to a forest that it should have all officers that
do belong to the forest, as verderors, foresters, regardors, agistors,
and woodwards; a justice in eyre, appointed by the king to deter-
mine trespasses of the forest; and courts of the forest called, 1.
the Justice-seat; 2. the Swanimote, held thrice in the year; and
3. Court of Attachments or Woodmote, held every forty days, and
thence called u The Forty-day Court." In some cases the grant
by the king of a forest to a subject was held not to convey the
royal privileges, but to give only the rights of a chace to the
grantee. The forest of Horewich was extensive, but the main-
tenance of the forest court, judge and officers, would have made
it costly to the grantee, and so he held it under the name of a
Inn, on matters relating to the forest of Leicester, it was held that if one hath a
warren by charter in all his manors, he may erect a convenient lodge for preservation
of his game ; or make cony-borrows in any place of the manor at his pleasure. —
(Mamwood.) A woman tenant for life of a park, within the forest of Lancaster, made
her claim for that, being called Knoghsley [Knowsley] Park, and also for a free
warren, and afterwards made default ; whereupon one Latham, being tenant in rever-
sion, was received, and made claim both for the park and also for the free warren ;
and because he did not show forth any good matter to warrant his title, therefore was
it adjudged that the aforesaid inclosure should be prosternatur, and should remain
forest; and that the aforesaid warren should be taken into the hand of the lord [of
Oersingham] See. — (Itinera Lane., fol. 5.)
96 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. VIII.
warren. It will be seen hereafter that the lords of Mamecestre
appointed three foresters to the forest of Horewich, and that
offenders in that forest were brought before the court baron or
court leet for punishment.
In the Calendar of Patent Rolls (p. 31) we find amongst the
grants of the 43 Henry III. (1259) a patent appointing Thomas
Grelle a justicier of the forest, on the hither [citra] or south side
of the Trent. 16 He could only have held this office a year or two,
for he died towards the close of 1261 or in January 1262. The
inquiries, escheats, and other proceedings of the crown, consequent
on his death, will form the subject of the following chapter.
16 There is but one chief justice of the forests on this side Trent, and he is named
" Justiciarius Itinerans Forest: &c. citra Trentam," and there is another chief justice
" ultra Trentam." The chief justice is commonly a man of greater dignity than
knowledge of the laws of the forest : and therefore when justice seats [forest courts]
are to be holden, there shall be associated to him such as the king shall appoint, who,
together with him, shall determine all pleas of the forest ; and the chief
justice of the forest and these associates are " Capitales Justiciarii Forests." — (Cb.
4, Inst. 314.)
97
CHAPTER IX.
PBOCEEDINGS ON THE DEATH OF THOMAS
GBESLET, SIXTH BAEON.
ESCHEATS AND DOWEB. a.d. 1262.
It appears by a document about to be given that Thomas Greslet
married a Christiana Ledet, who survived him, and by whom he
had two sons. The elder, Robert, died in his father's lifetime,
leaving a son of tender years ; who, in a plea of assize at Win-
chester, in 52 Henry III. (1267-8) is styled "Eobertus filius
Boberti, primogeniti Domini Thomae Greleigh." The second son
of Thomas was named Peter, and was in holy orders. Thomas
Greslet died in 46 Henry III. ; most probably in the latter part of
1261 ; for as early as the 18th February 1262, a writ was issued
as necessary under the circumstances of his death. He died
seised of the manor of Mamecestre and its appurtenances, hold-
ing five and a half knights' fees in that lordship, and in other
parts of the honour of Lancaster six fees, one third and one
twelfth of a fee, in chief from the king. He was also possessed
of the advowsons of the churches of Mamecestre, Childwall and
Ashton-under-Lyne, and the chapels of Hale and Garston. At
his death his grandson and heir Bobert, being a boy of tender
years, became by law the king's ward ; and his only surviving son,
Peter, had the custody of the church of Manchester during the
minority of his nephew, Bobert. As to the heirship of the manor,
Keuerden erroneously states that "Thomas Grelle gave to Peter
de Grelle, his son, the manor of Mamecestre and Childwalle, with
the chapels of Assheton, Hale and Garstan [Garston] to the said
98 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. IX.
churches belonging/' 1 Now, as no churches have been named, it
is most likely that for "manor" [manerium] Eeuerden should
have written "churches" [ecclesiis]. At this period the pope, by
his emissaries in England, named provisors, seized on all the
benefices falling in. 1 ? Hence, probably some of the proceed-
ings now to be noticed were taken by the crown, shortly after
the death of Thomas Greslet. Among the fine rolls, then kept in
the Tower of London, and printed by the commissioners of public
records, the second volume contains three records of the 46 Henry
III. (1262) of which we append translations: —
v In 1 241 Pope Innocent IV. gave orders to the Archbishop of Canterbury and
two of the English bishops to reserve three hundred of the best livings in England
for the use of the Italian clergy, on pain of being suspended from the power of
collating. The evils of these papal provisions became so great that in 1245 a letter
was addressed by the nobles and commons of England to the same pontiff, at the
general council of Lyons, complaining of the great injustice of this measure ; that
religious houses were defrauded of their rightful patronages and collations of bene-
fices; that Italians and other foreigners out of number possessing churches and
benefices in England, gave no protection to their charges; but disregarding alike
hospitality and almsgiving, only cared for their rents ; that in this way they received
yearly out of England no less than sixty thousand marks (or 40,0002.) yearly ; and
that if any benefice exceeded thirty marks (20/.) the pope's legate would give the
same away to an Italian, whereby true patrons were despoiled and defrauded of their
rights. This spirited petition only served to make the pope a little more cautious in
the exercise of his supremacy, and the king, his abettor, more jealous of his royal
prerogative. Such being the state of things before the death of Thomas Greslet, we
can weU imagine why ho would desire to leave two rich advowsons (worth two hun-
dred marks, or 133/. 6*. %d, each) to a clerical son of his own, rather than let them
fall into the rapacious clutches of some Italian priest. On the other hand, there would
soon be some inquiry as to how these rich benefices had slipped through the meshes
of the papal net. The official inquiries showed that the advowsons of the ohurches
belonged to the manor, and that their custody, during the nonage of the deceased
baron's grandson and heir, appertained to the king. Still it was feared that during
the minority of Robert Greslet the churches of Mamecestre, Ac., by one of the pope's
" Provisions" would be bestowed on some foreign ecclesiastic. In accordance, there-
fore, with a clause of Magna Carta, which secured to patrons of livings the custody
of them during vacancies, Peter Greslet, as uncle of the patron (then a minor) and
protector, was formally declared " Custos ecclesia? de Mamecestre," not " warden" (as
Caines renders it, for it was not a collegiate church at that time, but simply a
rectory), but custodian or keeper.
Chap. IX.] ESCHEATS AND DOWER, a.d. 1262. 99
No. i. 13TH Febbuary, 1262. — (Vol. ii. p. 367.)
Of the land of Thomas OresV to be taken into the king's hand, together
with his chattels: — Whereas Thomas de GresF, who held of the king
in capite [is deceased], whose heir is also under age, a writ of diem
elausit extremum 19 is issued, and it is commended to William de Wer-
lond, escheator of the king on this [south] side the Trent, 19 that all the
land and tenements of which the said Thomas was seised in his demesne
as of fee, on the day he died, he [the escheator] do take into the hands
of the king, and keep them in safe custody, until the king shall com-
18 " Diem elausit extremum" was a writ issued out of the Court of Chancery to the
escheator of the county, upon the death of any of the king's tenants in capite, to
inquire by a jury of what lands he died seised, and of what value, and who was his
next heir. This writ ought to be granted at the suit of the next heir ; for upon that,
when the heir came of age, he was to sue for livery of his lands out of the king's
hands. — (Jacob's Law Did.) In this case, the heir being the king's ward, the writ
would be issued at the suit of the king as guardian.
19 The term escheat (Latin eschaeta, from the Norman escheoir, to expire, to
happen, to lapse) signifies any lands or tenements that casually fall to a lord within
his manor, by way of forfeiture, or by the death of his tenant, leaving no heir, general
or special. — (Mag. Carl. cap. 31.) Escheats were of two sorts : x. Regal, or those
forfeitures which belong to the king by the ancient rights and prerogative of the
crown. 2. Feodal, which accrue to every lord of the fee, as well as the king, by
reason of his seigniory. Where a person comtoits treason, his estate shall escheat,
and be forfeited to the king ; and when a tenant in fee simple committeth felony and
is attainted, the king shall have year and day in his lands, in lieu of waste, and after-
wards it comes to the lord by escheat. And the lord may compound with the king
and have the estate presently. — (3 Inst. p. 11.) The escheator (escaetor) was an
officer of the king, appointed in every county to make inquests of titles by escheat ;
inquests were to be taken by good and lawful men of the county, impannelled by the
sheriff. — (Stat. 14, Edward III. cap. 8 ; 34 Edward III. cap. 13; 8 Henry VI.
cap. 16.) These eecheators found offices after the death of the king's tenants, who
held by knight-service or otherwise of the king, and certified their inquisitions into
the exchequer. Fitxherbert called them officers of record. — (F. N. B. p. 100.)
Before the establishment of an escheator in every county, the king had two for a large
tract of country in the north of England. The river Trent divided the jurisdictions
of these officers, who bore respectively the titles of the king's escheator "ultra
Trentam," beyond or north of the the Trent, and " citra Trentam," on the hither
side, or south of the Trent. Ihe William de Werlond of the text was William de
Weyland, son of Herbert do Weyland and Beatrix his wife. From September 1261
to January 1264 he was escheator south of Trent. He was afterwards (? 1272)
appointed a judge of the Commou Pleas.
100 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. IX.
maud otherwise therein. And that all the goods and chattels which
were the property of the said Thomas in those lands aforesaid, he shall
seize and, without disturbance by anyone whatsoever, he shall keep in
safe custody until the executors of the said deceased shall come to the
king and shall become security to him that his escheats shall be paid as
if the said Thomas were indebted to the king. Witness the king him-
self at Westminster, 18th February, [1262.]
No. 2. 6th May, 1262. — (Ibid.)
Of the manors committed to the wife of Thomas Ghres: to be held in
tenancy: — Whereas the king hath assigned to Christiana Ledet, who
was the wife of Thomas Gresl', late deceased, the manors of Swine-
heved and SixT, 90 to have in tenancy, of the king, whatsoever the land
which was of the said Thomas GresV, should be extended and assigned
to her, therefore, in respect of her dower. It is commanded to Wil-
liam de Werlond, escheator of the king on this [south] side the Trent,
that of the aforesaid manors with the appurtenances, to the same
Christina he shall cause to be delivered full seisin as aforesaid. Wit-
ness the king at Westminster, the 6th May, [1262.]
20 Christiana de Ledet or Ledette, jfi stated to have been the daughter and heir of
Walter de Ledet, " de Maybrok sup* Mors." She survived her husband some years,
and on her death (circa 1 27 2) there was some litigation between her next of kin, as
to the right to the presentation to churches. At the assises for Northamptonshire
in November 1 274, Alice, wife of William de Latymer, and Christiana^ wifss of John
le Latymer, were found to bo the nearest heirs of Christiana Leddete j and that there-
fore they ought to present the parson to the church of Wardon. — (Abb. Plac. Mick,
2 and 3 Edward I. rot. 23.) In 1322 there were further proceedings in the same
county, from which it appears that Christiana was the daughter and one of the heirs
of Walter Ledet ; that Alice, wife of William lo Latymer was the other [alteram]
daughter and heir of Walter Ledet ; and that Thomas le Latymer claimed to present
to the church of Corby, as son and heir of Christiana Ledet ; his claim being opposed
by William le Latymer and Alice his wife. No decision is given. Christiana Ledet
appears by the Testa de Nevill to have held several fees in capite of the king in
Northamptonshire ; indeed as many as constituted a barony. She had also a fee in
Lincolnshire, which she held of the king of ancient feoffment. The manor of Swine-
head is in that county ; and it was hero that a Cistercian abbey was founded by two*
of the earlier Grcslets. The manor of Sixle, Sixills, or Six-hills, is also in co. Lincoln.
Chap. IX.] E8CHEATS AND DOWER, a.d. ii6». 101
No. 3. 6th Mat, 1262. — {Ibid. vol. ii. p. 37 ?\) 1 * .
Of the manor of Mamecestre taken into the hand of thv-J&nq: —
The king to "William le Latymer 21 his escheator beyond [or noj^h of]
Trent, greeting. Because it is accounted or reckoned [computum e&\
before us, that Tho: Gresr, lately deceased, had not enfeoffed Peter--
Gresr his son, in the manor of Mamecestre at such time and in such '
manner as that he might have the free holding thereof, and because the
custody of the same manor belongs to us, by reason of the heir of the
said Thomas, who held of us in capite by barony, being in our hand : 22
We command you, that without delay the aforesaid manor you take
into our hands, and keep in safe custody, so that as to the issues thereof
coming to us, you may answer to our [sc'em] steward, [or perhaps exche-
quer: the abbreviated word " sc'em" may be senescallem or scaccariem.]
We have commanded, therefore, our sheriff of Lancaster, that if there be
any resistance, however small, to your entering into the same manor, in
order that you may take it into our hands ; then, taking with him the
posse of the said county, 28 he proceed in his own proper person to the
81 Le Latymer, or more correctly Latynner, mean9 the interpreter of languages,
Latin implying at that time any foreign language. This William seems to have had
large possessions in Lincolnshire and other counties, and was probably the husband
of Alice, sister of Christiana Ledet, referred to in the last note.
a The heir here referred to is Robert, grandson of the deceased Thomas, being the
eldest son of his deceased eldest son, and only ten years of age at the death of his
grandfather. He therefore inherited in direct descent ; his uncle, the Bey. Peter,
being a younger son of the deceased Baron Thomas. Being " in the hands of the
king," Henry III. gave Robert G-reslet for guardian the lord paramount of Lanca-
shire, his third son Edmund Crouchback, first earl of Lancaster.
** This direction would seem to indicate that some forcible opposition was antici-
pated to the entry of the king's escheator ; whether from Peter Greslet or the pope's
proyisors must be left to conjecture. The posse comUatus, or power of the county,
according to Lombard, contains the aid and attendance of all knights and other men
aboye the age of fifteen within the county ; because all of that age are bound to have
harness [arms and armour] by the statute of Winchester. The service is required
where a riot is committed, a possession is kept on a forcible entry, or any force or
rescue made contrary to the commandment of the king's writ, or in opposition to the
execution of justice. Sheriffs are to be assisting to justices of peace in suppressing
riots, &c., and are to raise the posse comitalus by charging any number of men to
attend for that purpose, who may take with them such weapons as shall be necessary ;
and they may justify the beating and even killing such rioters as resist, or refuse to
102 -.;.;•.". MAMECE3TRE. [Chjj». IX.
said mapoK'ancf that he shall take it into our hands, and commit it to
your .custody, as is aforesaid. Witness the king at Westminster, the
6th Mijy," [1262.]
• * We do not find any official returns of the escheators to these
writs ; but an inquisition was certainly held, 24 and it was found
that Thomas Greslet had held of the king in capite ; that he had
not infeoffed his surviving son Peter, of the manor of Mamecestre;
and that by reason of the minority of the heir, the custody of the
manor did appertain to the king until the full age of his ward,
Robert Greslet, grandson and heir of the said Thomas. The
custody of livings during vacancies, being secured to the patrons
by a clause of Magna Carta, Peter Greslet, as uncle of the patron,
then a minor, was formally declared " Custos ecclesiae de Mame-
cestre." This title appears in the record of an assize plea, at
Winchester, in 1268, relative to a church in Bucks : — "Peter de
Greleigh, keeper [custos] of the church of Mamecestre, acknow-
ledges that he wills and grants for himself, his heirs and assigns,
that Robert son of Robert, the first born [son] of the
lord Thomas Greleigh, which Robert is the heir of the same
Thomas/ 1 &c.* 5
surrender ; and persons refusing to assist herein may be fined or imprisoned. — (Slat.
17 Richard II, cap. 8 ; 2 Henry V. cap. 8513 Henry IV, cap. 7 ; Lamb. p. 313-
318, &c.) It is the duty of a sheriff, haying the execution of the king's writs, and
being resisted, to raise such a force as may effectually enable him to quell such resist-
ance. — (2 Inst. p. 193 ; 3 Inst. p. 161.)
M By an inquisition of the nature of an escheat of 38 Henry III. (1 254) Thomas
Grelle was found possessed of lands in Mamecestre and in the forest of Horewyche.
By inquisitions post mortem in the SS an< * 5<> Henry III. (1272) it was found that
he held the manors of Tunsted in Norfolk, Willanesham in Suffolk, Woodhered in
Rutland, aud Piryton in Oxfordshire.
* In the pleas of assize and jurat' before the lord the king at Winchester, on
Innocents day (December 28) 50 Henry III. (1265), Peter Grelegh, keeper of the
church of Mainecestre acknowledges that he willed and granted for him and his heirs
to Sir Philip Basset, — Robert son of Robert first-born of Sir Thomas Greslegh,
which Robert is heir of him Thomas, deceased before he was of lawful age, by which
the said right of inheritance devolved to him Peter, — that the same Philip shall hare
Chap. IX.] ESCHEATS AND DOWER a.d. 1262. 103
To this period may be assigned a deed without date by which
Sir Gilbert de Barton quitclaims to Sir Thomas Grelle all the
township of Parn worth. Sir Gilbert de Barton, in 1251, by
another deed promises to pay to Thomas de Grelle his lord, forty
marks on the feast of St. James, if he do not then grant to the
said Thomas three oxgang3 of his land in Barton ; and to this
deed, as to the one of which we subjoin an abstract, Adam de
Farinworthe was one of the witnesses : —
By a dateless deed, Gilbert de Barton, knight, remits and quit-
claims to his lord, Sir Thomas Grelle, all the vill of Farinwirthe, with
all its appurtenances, which I hold of his fee, in homage and service, in
the demesne, &c. To have, Ac. for ever. Witnesses: William de
Noreis, Thomas de Hulme, Bobert de Bediche, Bobert de Hilton,
Adam de Horb: Adam de Farinwrhe, John de Lever, and others. (En-
dorsed:) " The vill de Farneworthe." — (Trafford Muniments.)
In the times of which we are treating, it is mainly from the
official inquiries, such as inquisitions post mortem, escheats, and
other proceedings on the death of a tenant in capite, that we glean
any particulars of his possessions, the day of his death, the name,
degree of consanguinity and age of his heirs, &c. In the present
chapter, we have thus learned more than could be ascertained
from any other source, of Thomas Greslet, sixth baron, his wife,
sons and grandson, &c., and the time of his death. The next
records of the family are the inquisitions on the death of this
grandson, Bobert, seventh baron, in 1282. In the twenty years
interval, we may place a statute, directing the mode of surveying
and valuing manors.
and hold the manor of Periton near Wallingeford [co. Oxon.] with all its appur-
tenances, for all the term of his life. And that after his death that manor, to him
Peter and his heirs, without any impediment whatever, is fully to revert, &o. — (Mot.
1.; Plao. de Am. 50 Henry III.; Abb. Plac. p. 17a.) By the Abbrev. Rotul. Orig.
(?ol. L p. 64) we learn that in the 17 Edward I. (1288-9) Petop de Grelle had letters
of pardon from the king, — for what offence does not appear, — on paying a fine of
iooj.
104
CHAPTER X.
THE EXTENDING OB SURVEYING OF
MANORS.
The first statute passed in the 4 Edward I. a.d. 1276, was one
intituled " Extenta Manerii," " expressing a survey of the build-
ings, lands, commons, parks, woods, tenants, &c." of manors.
This statute so precisely sets forth all that is to be inquired into,
in making an extent or survey of the manor, and also the exact
order to be taken in the inquiry, that it is necessary to our purpose
to print its English version entire, from the statute book i 76
I. The Buildings. — First it is to be inquired of the castles,
and also of other buildings compassed about with ditches, what the
walls, buildings, timber, stone, lead, and other manner of covering
are worth, and how they may be prized [appraised or valued]
according to the very [i.e. true] value of the same walls and
buildings ; and for how much the buildings without [i.e. outside
or beyond] th§ ditch may be prized, and what they be worth with
the gardens, curtilages, dove-houses, and all other issues of the
court, by the year.
98 This was not the earliest attempt at statutory regulation. Most diligent inquiry
(it is required in the picas of the crown, in the reign of Richard I. 1 194) shall be
made what is the rental assessed upon each manor in demesne, and the value of all
other assessments in the said manors, and how many carucates there are, and how
much they are each worth, not estimating them at a fixed value of 20*. only, but
according as the land is good or bad, whether the value is likely to increase or
decrease. Inquiry is also to be made with how many oxen and plough-horses each
carucate ought to be stocked ; and how much stock, and to what amount each manor
is able to support ; and the result thereof is then to be speedily and distinctly reduced
to writing. The price set upon a bull shall be 4* , and upon a cow the same, and
upon a plough-horse the same; upon a sheep with fine wool iod. t with coarse wool
6d. ; upon a sow 1 id , and upon a boar 1 id. — (AnnaU of Roger de Hoveden.)
Chap. X.] EXTENDING OF MANORS. 105
[Sir A. Fitsherbert, who was a judge of the Common Pleas temp.
Henry VIII. under the title of " A Boke of Surveying" (first printed
by Richard Pynson, London, 1523, 4 to.) reprints this statute, Latin and
English, with an explanatory commentary on each of its provisions, the
material portions of which we append:] — These words go as well to
those castles and other buildings that be well upholden and inhabited,
as well as to those that be fallen in decay, and not inhabited ; and to
those that be inhabited it is not necessary to be extended nor valued in
any parcel. After the barons' wars, in the time of Henry HI., in which
many noblemen were slain, many fled and were afterward attainted for
treason, and their castles and manors were seized unto the king's
hands; and so for want of reparation, the castles and the manors
[manor-houses] fell to ruin and in decay. The king and his council
thought it better to extend [t. e . survey and value] them and make the
most profit they could of them, than to let them fall to the ground.
Wherefore this statute was made : First, it is most necessary and con-
venient to retail and sell everything by itself, and not all in gross, some
to one man, and some to another. For what is good for one man is not
good for another, and everything [ought] to be [ap-]praised and sold by
itself; that is to say, the stone wall of one house by itself, the timber
of the same house by itself, the covering by itself, the tile, slate, or lead
by itself, the glass by itself, the iron-ware, as bars, bands, hooks, bolts,
staples, or latches, and all such other by themself 5 doors, windows,
boards and all other things by themself; and to go from house to house
and sell everything by itself, and then shall the true value be best
known. And it is convenient that these things be offered to be sold to
divers men, and to see who will give most, and specially to sell when
men desire to buy. Also to value what the grass of the gardens, cur-
tilages, courts and house-places that be within the ditches or without,
be worth by the year. A curtilage is a little croft, or court, or place of
easement, to put in cattle for a time, or to lay in wood, coal or timber,
or such other things necessary for household. Also to value the profit
of the dove-house, if any be there, if it be replenished with doves.
II. The Demesnes. — It is to be inquired also how many fields
are of the demesnes a ?[and how many acres of land are in every
* The words in brackets are not in the original, which seems imperfect.
P
106 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. X.
field], and what every acre is worth by the year [i.e. to be let] ;
and how many acres of meadow are of the demesnes, and how
many be in a field, and how much every acre by itself is worth by
the year to be let ; [also how many acres of pasture there be] , 38 and
for what beasts or cattle the same pasture is most necessary, and
how many it will find, and of what manner, and what the pasture
of every beast is worth, to be let by the year.
" How many fields are of the demesnes" must needs be taken of fields
that be in tillage or ploughing ; but it should be understood whether
the demesne lands lie in the common fields amongst other mens' lands,
or in the fields by themselves. If they be in the common fields it is
convenient that they be ploughed and sown, and then is not an acre so
much worth, as an it were in severalty inclosed, or in several pasturage;
for, an the fields be enclosed about, then it is at the lord's pleasure
whether they shall lie to pasture or to tillage; and though it lie in
tillage, yet hath the lord the eddish and aftermath himself, for his own
cattle. And therefore an acre is at the more value. And if it be in
pasture, the pasture may be such that it is at double or treble the value
of the arable land. Wherefore the acres are to be praised accordingly,
and if they be great flats or furlongs in the common fields, it is at the
lord's pleasure to enclose them and keep them in tillage or pasture, so
that no other man have common therein. As to meadows it should be
understood whether they lie in common meadows, pastures, or common
pasture, at large or in severalty ; for an it be at large in the common
meadows, an acre is no better worth than the grass that the hay is made
of is worth, for after[ward] it is common, and of little value. And if
it lie in severalty, it is worth half as much again, as of the grass was
worth. And that high ground and dry is most convenient for sheep,
wood ground and bush for beasts, and specially in winter time. Low,
meadow and marsh grounds for hay, and after for fat cattle, and in
winter for horses and mares, and mean grounds that are both hilly and
daly, as lease [grasslands] and low grounds are good for all manner of cattle,
if the grass be good and fine, and specially for fat cattle or fat sheep,
horses, mares, and young colts, for that grass that one manner of cattle
28 Though these words are not in the original they are properly inserted, as the
original is not sense without such an addition.
Chap. X.] EXTENDING OF MANORS. 107
will not eat, another will. Therefore it is good to have a large close,
that divers manner of cattle may go together in it. And to know what
a beast's grass is worth by the year, that is as the pasture is, that he
goeth in, and not overcharged with cattle, and the fineness of the grass,
and the goodness of an acre. For some acre of ground is not worth a
penny by the year, and some acre is worth 40J. or 5*., and so a beast's
grass may be dear enough [at] i2d. in the year, and it may be worth
4od. or 5*. ; and a horse's grass or a mare's grass may be dear enough
[at] 1 2d. or 2od. by the year, and it may be worth 5*. or a noble [6*. 8d.]
according to the goodness of the pastures.
III. The Foheign Pasture. — Also it is to be inquired of
foreign pasture, that is common, how many, and what beasts and
cattle the lord may have in the same, and how much the pasture
of every beast is worth by the year to be let.
"Foreign pasture that is common" may be understood three ways; in
many towns where their closes and pasture lie in severalty, there is com-
monly a common close taken in, out of the common or fields, by tenants
of the said town, for their oxen or kine, or other cattle, in the which
close every man is stinted, and set to a certainty how many beasts he
shall have in the same, and of what manner of beasts they shall be.
And if the lord shall have any cattle therein, he should be put to a
certainty, and of what manner of cattle ; and this pasture may be well
valued. And also the beasts' grass what it is worth therein. But then
it ought to be shewed, how many acres be contained in the said pasture,
and what every acre is worth one with another. Another manner of
common pasture, is most commonly in plain champaign countries, where
their cattle go daily before the herdmen, and lie nigh adjoining to their
common fields, and it may be in two or three places or more. And in
these it is also convenient, that every man be stinted to a certainty,
either by yards, lands, oxgangs, rents, or such other customs as the
tenants use; and the lord in like manner. These common pastures may
be extended, how many acres be in every parcel by itself, and what an
acre is worth by itself; but it cannot be so well known what a beast's
grass is worth yearly, for they lie most commonly with the fallow fields,
and some fallow fields be better than some, and so a beast's grass may
be better or worse. The third manner of common pasture is in the
108 MAMEGE8TBE. [Ghaf.X.
lord's out-woods, that lie common to his tenants, as common moors or
heaths, the which were never arable lands. In these manner of com-
mons, meseemeth, the lord should not be stinted, nor set at no certainty,
but put his cattle upon such manner of common pasture at his pleasure;
because all the whole common is his own, and his tenants have no
certain parcel thereof laid to their holdings, but all only bite of mouth
with their cattle ; and it were against reason to abridge a man of his
own right. But his tenants, and every man's tenants, meseemeth,
ought of right to be stinted what every man ought to have, going upon
all manner of commons ; for else would the rich men in the beginning
of summer buy sheep and other manner of cattle, and eat up the com-
mon, and sell them again at winter, or put them in their pastures that
they have spared all the summer, and so overpress the poor men, that
have no money to buy, nor [be] able to rear.
IV. The Parks and Demesne Woods. — Also it is to be
inquired of parks and demesne woods, which the lord may assart
and improve [or as Fitzherbert translates it, pluck up and fell] at
his pleasure ; and how many acres they contain, and how much
the vesture of an acre is worth ; and how much the land is worth
after the wood is felled, and how many acres it containeth, and
how much every acre is worth by the year.
This is to be understood of parks and demesne woods that be in
severalty, whereof the lord at his pleasure may assart, stock up by the
roots, or fell by the earth, plough and sow to his most profit as he will ;
and how many acres of wood are contained in the same. For in a park
or wood may be two hundred acres or more, and yet not past one
hundred acres thereof wood, little more or little less, and what the
vesture (that is to say the wood) of every acre is worth by itself; for
an acre may be worth 20*. or 40*. and another acre dear enough [at]
28. 6d. or 10*. ; and how much the whole ground containeth when the
wood is fallen [felled]. And that is to be understood, all the ground
within pale or hedge, as well the [arable] land ground as the wood
ground, where the wood grew ; and what every acre is worth by the
year, as well of the one manner as of the other.
V. The Foreign Woods. — Also it is to be inquired of foreign
ChjlP. xj extending of MANORS. 109
woods, whether other men have common, and how much the lord
may improve to himself of the same woods ; and how many acres,
and for how much the vesture [i.e. the wood] of every acre may
be valued at, and how much the ground is worth yearly after that
the wood is felled : [and how many acres it containeth, and what
every acre is worth by the year]. 29 And it is to be inquired
whether the lord may give or sell anything of the residue of the
foresaid woods, and what such gifts and sales are worth by the
year.
This declaration is doubtful because of the uncertainty thereof [as to]
what is sufficient common. For it is clearly ordained by the statute of
Merton and after confirmed by the second statute of Westminster, that
the lord shall improve himself of their wastes ; whereby is understood
of their common moors, heaths and waste grounds, as well as of woods,
though the statute speak but of woods only, leaving their tenants suffi-
cient common; the which in my opinion be those tenants that have
common appendant, and hold their lands of him. What is sufficient of
common, meseemeth, by reason should be thus : To see how much cattle
the hay and the straw that a husband[man] getteth upon his own tene-
ment, will find sufficient in winter, if they lie in house, and be kept
therewith all the winter season ; for so much cattle should he have
common in summer, and that is sufficient. There be four manner of
commons, to wit : Common appendant, common appurtenant, common
in gross, and common per cause de vicinage, i.e. neighbourship. Com-
mon appendant is where a lord of old time hath granted to a man a
mese-place [a messuage, home-stead or toft] and certain lands, meadows
and pastures, with their appurtenances, to hold of him. To this mese-
place, lands and meadows, belongeth common, and that is called common
appendant. But an a man grant to another certain lands or pastures,
the which lie in severalty, inclosed with the appurtenance in fee, to
hold of the chief lords, to these lands meseemeth belongeth no com-
mon, without he have such special words in his deed. Common appur-
tenant is where a man hath had common to a certain number of beasts,
or without number, belonging to his mese-place in the lord's wastes ;
* The words in brackets are not in the original, but are printed in the English of
the statute book.
HO MAMECE8TRE. [Chap.X.
this is common appurtenant by prescription, because of the use time
out of mind. Common in gross, is where the lord hath granted by his
deed common of pasture to a stranger that holdeth no lands of him, nor
ought to have any common, but by reason of that grant by deed. Now
the lord may not improve himself of any parcel; for it is contrary to
his grant, though there be sufficient of common. And in the like case,
if the lord grant common to a man by deed, and to limit him a certain
number of beasts, see what was common at that time, and of that the
lord shall not improve himself; for, an he should, the grounds of the
common to that certain number would be abridged, that they should not
fare so well. And if the lord grant a man common with his cattle, within
certain meres, limits and bounds, the lord shall not improve himself
within those meres and bounds. Common per cause de vicinage, is
where the waste ground of two townships lie together, and neither
hedge nor pale between to keep their cattle asunder, so that the cattle
of one township goeth over his mere or bound into the waste ground of
the other town, and likewise the cattle of the other township to them.
And also if their common fields lie together inclosed, in open time,
when harvest is in, their cattle will go out of the one field into the
other field ; and this is called " Commons because of neighbourship," and
[it] is not used or lawful to pin their cattle so going, but in good manner
to drive and chase [them] beside such common. And as for that man-
ner of commons, meseemeth the lord may improve himself of their
waste grounds, leaving their own tenants sufficient common, having no
regard to the tenants of the other township. But as for all arable
lands, meadows, leise [leas, grass lands] and pastures, the lords may
improve themselves by course of the common law; for the statute
speaketh of nothing but of waste grounds, and understand that, howbeit
a lord may not improve himself of his waste grounds, yet may he law-
fully fall and sell all the wood, broom, gorse, furze, bracken, fern,
bushes, thorns, and such other, as free stone, lime stone, chalk, turves,
clay, sand, lead, ore, or tynne, to his own use ; for the tenants may have
nothing by reason of common, but only bite of mouth with their cattle.
And swine and geese have no common but by sufferance, without
special words in their charter. Also the lord shall have his free warren
for all manner beasts and fowls of warren in his waste grounds, as well
as in his several grounds; and, as long as the beasts and fowls of
Cuki
i ND1NG OF MANORS.
Ill
warren be upon the lord's ground, fcbej be the lord's, if he have warren,
the lord may have an action of trespass against any man that
ehaseth or kiUeth any of them in his common, as well as in his several
And if they go or fly out of the lord's warren, then is the property
changed, and the lord hath loet hia art ton for taking of them when they
tut of bii warren, without they come into his warren again. There
ia QO man that hath warren but by special graai of the king by ehart* r,
except it have been used time out of mini and allowed before justice in
No dodbi the lord may gm or sell the residue of hia foreign
wood*, exoept that a man havr common of estovers. But what that gift
or ■ Ii to be understood and knoWB, and as rne l eemotfc , the
dome or the buyer shall be in like cause [case] as the lord would have
been, if he had not given it nor sold it. Then the lord hath improved
himself of as much woods and wastes as he can lawfully, and when he
hath given or Bold the residue of that, he cannot improve himself of it.
In like maimer the donee nor the buyer cannot improve themselves of
part thereof, toot they cannot be in better ease than he of whom
they had it. Howbeit that they that of right ought to have their
Commons, be not their tenants, but their title and interest grew by
inh» long time before the gift or sale made by the lord; and it
bh by reason that the gift or sale of a stranger shall not hurt
another man's inheritance. But this donee or this purchaser shall take
16 their profit all the vesture standing upon, or being within, the said
ground, as woods, and such other as is said before in the next [last]
chaj
VI. VannagBj Herbage, &c. — Also it is to be inquired of pan-
nage, herbage of the town, honey and all other profits [exit! bus,
outgoings] of forests, woods, rivers, moors, marshes, heaths, turbary
and waste, and how much it is worth by the year. 31 *
80 These are the terms of this clause in Kuffhcad's Statutes at Large. But he
prints tbt? originnl Latin 1'rom the Cotton MS. Claudius D. i ! — "Item inquirendum
est do pannagio, et herbagio, mellc, oleribus, et omnibus alii* ciitibus virariorutD,
mariscorum, morarum, bruerarum,. turbariarum et rastorum, quantum vuleant per
annum/ 1 Rendered literally this would be — u pannage and herbage, honey, of herbs,
and of all other issues of fishponds, marshes, moors, heaths, turbaries and wastes"
It seems probable, as herbage has been named just before, that the true reading of
'rueUe, oleribua" should be "melle apibus/' beet' honoj. Fitxherbort has also
misread the original, putting title for melUj and so translating it "herbage of the
112
MAMECESTRK.
[Chap. X.
Where thia statute apeaketh of pmmag. I to be under
when there is any mast growing in the lord's u hereby men's
a wine may be fed and relieved, what profit that may be to the i
For there is no man that ran elaim of right to ha he which
is a fruit , but the lord; except his free tenant has it by <<rus
in his deed u Quod sit quietus de paunagio."' And the lord shall have
it in his foreign out- woods, as well aa in his parks on
and as the quantity of the mast is, ho the lord's bailiff of right
lay mens' swine thereunto from Michaelmas to Martinmas and to make
a true account thereof at the lord's audit, what he taketh £
swine. And in many places the tenanls go from pannage in the foreign
wood! by custom, and that is motJ oommonly where the t< mints pay
tack-swin » by « PDfltoo, if be have to a certain number, or else to pay
yearly at Michaelmas a penny or a halfpenny for every swine, as the
custom ib used* u Herbage of the town" is to be understood of the
common pasture that belongetb to the town whereupon the herdsman
hcepeth the tenants' cattle. It may he so good, that the tenants need
not to have any several pasture ; but that their common pasture sin
It able to find all their cattle, both horses, mares, b
and so it was of old time, that all the lands, in ill v. - and pasture!
open and unclosed. And then wax their tenements much eap
than they be now; for the most part of the lords ha
demesne lands and meadows, and keep them in severalty, ao that their
tenants have no eommon with them therein. And also the lords 1
inclosed a great part of their waste grounds, and straitened their tenant*
of their commons therein, and also have given licence to divers of ti
tenants, to incloae part of their arable lands, and to take in new intfl
or closes out of the commons, paying to their lords more n
so that the common pastures wax leas, and the rents of the tenants wax
more and more. And it is because the tenants wax more politic
wisdom, to improve their tenements, holdings, and farms; and at the
of the term another man that made no cost of the said improi
oftereth the lord certain money for a fine to have it, or to heighten th©
rent of the same ; so that he that made the cost or his children shall
town.'* Again ho reads the other terms — "pools, meres, and running waters, of
moor>, heath*, and wastes." There seems to be no authority In the original for the
English version of the statute as to "forests, woods, mors/* or as to " herbage of
*AP. X.]
KX TEN DING OF MANORS.
113
re the said farm, without lie will give as much or more as is
8 lord, anil so, through the envy of bis neighbour, and the
rf the lord and his O&oeiB, the poor tenant hath a great
loss, or else pa] utterly undone. (>od amend it. And the lords have a
greater loss than they wren ; for their tenants see how their neighbours,
that have buiJded their bouses and improved their lands, be put out,
he make a tine or pay more rent, — causeth them neither to
vise to improve their holdings, to the lord's great loss
at length. As to M pools, vivaria" — vivarium is a poo] or a mere, that
fish increaseth and lyeth in. Some running waters he as free and
several to the lords, as their pools, meres, or standing waters. And as
they be stored with fish, bo doth the profit rise to the lords, whether
I tlnv go by way of improvement, or [are] set to farm ; whereof the
bailiff shall make account. Moors, heaths and wastes go in like manner
as the herbage of the towns: for the lord's tenants have common in all
such out-grounds, with their cattle; but they shall have no wood,
thorns, turves, gorse, fern, and such other, but by custom, or else by
special words in his chart-
VUL Mills and Fishings. — Also of mills, fishings several and
common, what they be worth by the year.
There be many manner of mills, as corn and wind and horse mills,
and *pi»?rns that go with hand ; fulling-mills, scythe- mills, cutler-mills,
smith- mil Is, and all other as the wheel goeth by drift of water to blow
le bellows, 01 to dry [up, or draw] any water like a pump, as there be
Cornwall and divers other places. Though they be no mills pro-
erly to grind coin, yet it is a profit to the lord, the which a surveyor
ay not forget to put in his book, and to butt [abut] and bound them as
bey lie, and who be the fanners, and what rents they pay. And to the
mills to the most part of them belongeth Socone [soken], that is to
ay, custom of the tenants is to grind their corn at the lord's mill, and
is, as me seemeth, all such corn as groweth upon the lord's
ground, that he spendeth in his house. But if he buy his com in the
market or other places, he is then at liberty to grind where he may be
est served. That manner of grinding is called " love-soken" and
he lord's tenants be called u bond-soken." And if they grind not
in at the lord's mill, he may amerce them in his court, or else
114
MAMFt'ESTRE.
he may sue them at the common law, " De Secta molendini faciei
It is also to be known bow the toll should be taken, but there be do
many divers grants made by tin- lord, boom men to ad to the
twentieth part, and some to the twenty-fourth \ U to
the sixteenth part, and bondmen to the twelfth part, some men to
toll-free and some hopper- free; that is to wit. that his corn should
put into the hopper and ground next to the corn that is in the hoppei
at time of his coming. And in some places to take the toll after the
strength of the water, that followeth by reason ; for that mill that
hath a big water, and may drive a great broad stone, the which will
make much more meal than that mill that goeth with a little stone,
he is much better worthy to have the more toll, and yet shall the
owner of the corn have the more profit. If any man fish in the lord's
pools or meres [i. e. standing waters], the lord may have his action
upon the first statute of Westminster, And if he fish in the running
waters, the lard may have his action at the common law. And m
like wise the lord's tenant, if any man fish in his farm hold, be it [in]
standing waters or running waters. As to "common fishing" that is
little profit to the lord, but to his tenants, except he dwell mgh
sea, and will cause his servant to fish there for him ; for that is the
best common water that any man can fish in. And some nirn
waters be common, as little brooks and ditches ; and in some run:
waters the lord's tenants have liberty by custom, to fish with shove-
nets, trode-nets, small pitches, and such other.
VIII. Freeholders. — Also it is to be inquired of freeholders,
the which dwell without as well as within [the manor] that is to
say, how many freeholders there be, and who they be, and what
manner lands and tenements, and what fees they hold, and by
what services, whether it be by socage or knight's service, or
otherwise, and what they are worth, and pay yearly of rent
assise, and who hold by charter, and who not; and who by old
tenure, and who by new feoffment. Also it is to be inquired of
the said free tenants, which do follow the court from county to
county, and which not, and what and how much falleth to the
lord after the death of such free tenants.
A freeholder may dwell out of the precinct of the lord's manor, ami
Chip. X.]
EXTENDING OF MANORS.
115
hold his land of the said manor. For one manor may stretch into
divers shires, and in that case the lord of the honour or manor may
take a distress for his rents, homages, reliefs, customs and services,
and to bring the same distress out of that shire where he was taken,
i that shire where the manor is, of whom these said lands be holden.
And if the tenant will sue replevy, the sheriff where the cattle is, shall
make and serve the replevy, and not the sheriff where the goods or
rattle was taken, nor return upon his replevy " Quod averia
elongate sunt/ 1 And the lord may have a freeholder that holdcth his
land of him and payeth him chief rents and other service, and not by
the reason of any manor. Thus if a man purchase a parcel of land
before the making of the statute "Quia emptores ten-arum'* {18
Edward L, 1290) and give the saint 1 lands again to a stranger before
the muking of the said statute, to hold of him by certain rent and
service ; this may be called a foreign freeholder, for it is no parcel of
any manor, and it is no manor itself. For to every manor belongeth
things, that is to say parcel in demesne and parcel in service j
that is, lands in demesne belonging to the manor, and service, customs
or rents. But this freeholder, though he hath demesne* hath no ser-
. Also a man may have both rent and service of a freeholder, and
yet ' . h not his lands of him that he payeth his chief rent unto.
As, an a man purchase lands since the making of the said statute, and
give it to a stranger, reserving fealty and certain rent, this freeholder
holdeth his lands of the chief lord next above, and yet he shall pay
bis rents and services reserved to him that gave it to him, and if the
gift were in the tail, and no remainder in fee over, now the reversion
resteth still in the donor. There be many manner of freeholders, and
hold their lands and tenements in divers manner, and by many
manner of rents, customs and services, as tenants in foe simple,
ten,. L tenanl of court- roll, tenants by the courtesy,
tenants in dower, and tenants for term of life by special grant, and
many other. And all these tenants may hold their lands by divers
tenures, customs and services, as by homage, fealty, escuage, socage,
knight's service, grand-serjeanty, petty- serjuauly, frank-almoyne,
homage-auucestrel, burgage tenures and tenure in villenage. The
of these tenures, what rents, fees, customs and services, the
lord ought to have of his tenants, cannot be known but by the lord's
116
MAMECESTRK.
[Ciur. X,
evidence, court rails, rentals, and Bnch other precedents, and specially
by the original deeds of their tenants. The tenants in fee simple and
the tenants in tail, that have evidence and deeds made and sealed,
m id possession delivered of their lords, or by their attorney, from
to another, they hold their lands by charter, be it new made 01
Also there be tenants in fee simple, and tenants in tail, that hold bv
no charter, and those be tenants by copy of court -roU. As, an a lord
has a manor, within which there is a custom, used time out of mind,
that certain tenants within that manor have used to have their lands
and tenements to hold to them and their heirs, in fee simple, fee tail,
and for term of life, at the will of the lord, after the custom of the
manor. Such a tenant may not give or sell his land by deed ; for an
he do, the lord may enter, as in lands forfeit to him. If such a tenant
will give or sell such manner of lands to another, be must surrender the
same lands in the lord's court, into the lord's hands, unto the use of him
that should have it, in fee simple, fee tail, or for term of life. And
these manner of tenants shall not plead nor be impleaded of their
tenements by the king's writ, but an they will implos nther lor
their tenements, they shall have their plaint made in the lord's 00
There may be one manor or lordship both charter land and copy land,
and each of them well known from other, and one man have and hold
them both. Also there be other tenants by copy of com
tenants per le verge, to wit, by the yard ; so called because, when t
would surrender their tenements into the lord's hands, to the use of
another, they shall have a little yard in their hand by the custom of
the court, and that they shall deliver unto the steward if he be there
present, or to the bailhT or reeve, or to other two honest men of
lordship. And at the next court, he that shall have tin mds
shall take it in the court, and his taking shall be entered in the roll,
and the steward or bailiff, as the custom is used, shall deliver to
that shall have the land the same yard, or another, in the name of
seisin; and [he] hath none other evidence but tl «f the court-
roll, and it may be nude in be rimplA, <>r fee tail, or for term of life.
And all manner of customs that be not against reason, may be admit-
ted and allowed for a custom. H< at these manner of OOJ
holiJwis have an • inhtiritaoi custom of the manor,
y<-t have fehojj no fraiik-Umemoiit, h. mmon h
Ciiai-. X.]
KXTKXIUNG OF MANORS.
117
therefore they be called tenants of base nature. There is no manner
of estates made of free land, by poll-deed or deed indented, but tike
estates may be made by copy >>f copy-lands, if they be well made and
enter* d in the court-rolls. And the steward is bound by law and con-
aoe to be an indifferent judge between the lord and his tenants,
and to enter their copies truly in the lord's conrt-roUs, the whit ■!■
a register to the lord to know Ms precedents, customs and services,
also of a great surety to the tenants, that if their copies wvvp lost they
v«»uch aud resort to the lord's court-rolls, and the steward may make
Boarding to the old precedent in the lord's court. As
rent of assise," there be three manner of rents; rent-service, rent-
charge, and rent-sec. Rent-service is where a man holdeth his land of his
lord by fealty and certain rent, or by homage, fealty and a certain rent, or
ny other service and certain rent. This is a rent service, and if the
rent he behind at any day that it ought to he paid at, the lord may distrain
for that rent of common right. If the lord purchase pail of the said land
that the rent goeth out of, the rent shall be apportioned, except it be
ut, as a sparrow-hawk, or a horse, or such other that c&nnot
severed, for then the rent in extinct and gone for ever. 1{ cut-charge
is where a man is seised of lands in fee, and granteth by poll-deed or
indented, an annual rent going out of the same lands in fee or in
, or for term of life, with a clause of distress. That is a I
charge, and the grantee may distrain tor the same rent, because of the
clause of distress. But if the grantee purchase parcel of the said lands,
he said rent goeth out, the whole rent-charge is extinct and gone
for ever, Rent-sec is where a man, seised of lands in fee, granteth a rent
going out of the same without a clause of distress ; and it is called a renl-
sec, because there is no distress incident nor belonging to the same. -Kent-
annual is where a man granteth by his deed an annuity of 20^., be it more
or less, and ehargeth no land with the payment of the same. As 1 1
to the county court, &c, me seemeth that all manner such tenants that
hold their land by such service, having charter laud 1 , ought to follow the
I of the county, if he be summoned d> appear, except lie have a special
grant by charter of the king to the contrary, and to be sworn in inquiries
before the justice of peace, justice of assize, eseheators, coroners, and all
r commissioners of the king's, and bet ween party and party, as the law
hath ordained it llowbeit in some case he shall dispend ami have m
118
MAMECESTRE.
[Ch>
lands than in some case, that is to say, if the damage in plea personal, k
debt, trespass, detcnue, and such other, be declared under the value of
forty marks [2 61. 13*. 4*/.] then a freeholder that hath any charter land, be
it more or less, may pass hot ween party and party. And also he
cieot to inquire fur the king in every hill of indictment, for felony ; and so
is every constable and freeman, though he have no Intnl. But there shall no
table nor freeholder inquire of riot nor forcible entries, without he may
depend 40*, clear yearly, (See the statutes of Richard II. and Henry VII.)
And also whether the damages in plea personal be declared forty marks
[26/. 13*. 4d.] or above, the freeholder must have lands to th
of 40*. And every man that shall pass of life and death, aud for title of
be it never so little, he must have lands to the value of 40*. cle | all
charges. And in attaint, if the thing in demand, and verdict upon tl
extend to the value of 40/. or above, then every man of the grand jury
must have lands of the value of 20/. of freehold, out of ancient demesne,
and of lands in gavel kind 20L ; and if it be under the value of 40/., then
40*. of freehold is sufficient. Ah to M what falicth to the lord after the
death of such free tenants" that is divers manners of rents, customs, and
services. As if a tenant hold of the lord by knight's service, and decease,
his heir being of full age, the lord shall have for every knight's fee that the
tenant huldeth of the lord 50A of his heir, in the name of relief. For the
which the lord may distrain, in every parcel of that land that is so h olden of
him, for the same of common right. And if it he under a whole knight's
fee, as half a knight's fee, the third part, the fourth part, or the twentieth
part, more or less, the relief shall be apportionate, according to the smi
and [he] shall pay his chief rents (if any be) nevertheless. And if the tenant
decease, his heir being within age of twenty-one years, the lord shall have
the ward and the keeping of the body, during his nonage, and if he ho
unmarried then his marriage to give or sell to whom he will, without dis-
paragement ; and, when he Cometh to full age, he shall pay no relief; and
if lie be married and under the age of fourteen years, he may refuse and
disagree. If the tenant have issue female above the age of fourteen years,
be she married or not, the lord shall not have the ward nor the niarn
because the law tntendetb that she hath a husband, or may have at that
age, able to do such service. But if the heir female be under the age of
fourteen years, unmarried, the lord shall have both the lands holden of him
and the marriage, till she come to the age of fourteen years, and two years
further to tend her marriage in, if she be unmarried. And at the two years'
;
EXTENDING (II MANOHS.
119
end she may enter into her lands, and put out ber guardian, nod marry her-
self at her pleasure ; but if she be married before the age of fourteen years,
in the life of her ancestor, and then her ancestor die, the lord shall have
the ward of the land to the age of fourteen years, and then ber husband
and - titer and put out the lord. And if the tenant hold of two
lords hy knight service, of one by priority and of another by posteriority, and
die, the lord that the tenant holdeth of by priority, shall have the ward of
the body, be it heir male or heir female, though there be three or four
daughters; for all they are but one heir to the lands that he holden of him.
And the other lord, of whom the lands be holden by posteriority, shall
liave those lands holden of himself and nothing else. If the heir be of full
at the decease of bis ancestor, be shall pay a relief to every lord that
he holdeth any land of, if relief be due to be paid by reason of his tenure.
But in case a tenant hold divers manors of divers lords by IcXQgfet service,
and have but one parcel of land holden of the Icing in capite, the king shall
have all the whole lands holden of every lord during the nonage and the
marriage of the heir, if he be unmarried ; and if the heir be under the
age of fourteen years, and will disagree to the marriage, then the king shall
have the marriage of him or her, or the value thereof, nnd the king shall
pay no chief rent during the nonage, except it be found due to be paid in
Pthe office of the oofieator. And many other things may fall to the lords,
as heriots and other customs, according to their original deeds, and use of
the manor. There be two manner of heriots, to wit, beriot service and
■ heriot custom. Heriot service is where a man hath given lands and tene-
ments to another man and to bis heirs, to hold of him and of his heirs, as
before the making of the statute " Quia emptores terrarum,* or since the
making of the said statute, to hold of the chief lord of the fee by the
service thereof due and of right accustomed, reserving to him certain rents,
heriots, or other custom. This is rent service and heriot service, because it
: pressed in bis original deed. Heriot custom is where a man bath a lord-
ship, wherein hath been used, time out of mind, that every tenant that
holdeth any mese [dwelling] place of the lord shall give his best quick good,
^m the name of a heriot, to the lord ; and he that hath no quick good, shall
give his beat dead good. In some lordships, every man that dieth within the
same, be be the lord's tenant or not, shall pay a heriot. Insomuch that if a
strange man ride or go by the way, and die within such a lordship, he shall
pay a heriotj the which is plain extortion and against the common right.
In some lordships the lord shall take bis heriot before the parson or the
120
MAMECESTRK.
rcu*.
vicar his mortuary ; and in some places the church before. And that is, at
it bath been accustomed* time out of mind. Also in some other place-
parted between the church and the lord ; and that is, where he that is dead,
bath no more quick good hut one horse, or one beast, and then lie that
hath been used to choose first, shall have the better part by one penny ; but
of dead good, either party shall have one. But they shall neither of them
take any dead good, as long as there is any quick goods. And in many
lordships it is used, that an the tenant leave his house by his OWB
without any discharge of the lord, the tenant shall pay hi* beat quick good
to the lord in the name of a heriot ; and in some lordships it is accustomed
that if the tenant depart from the lordship by Lis uwn will, he shall make a
fine with the lord for this departing, and most commonly it is two chilli
and it is called a fare fee, or a farewell; and such a tenant that goeth at
his own will, shall make all manner of reparations; and that tenant that
is discharged by the lord shall make no reparations, except he be discharged
for not doing reparations, &c.
IX. Customary TenaxNts. — It is to be inquired also of c
mary tenants, that is to wit, how many there be and how much
land every of them holdeth ; what works and customs he doth,
and what the works and enstoms of every tenant be worth yearly,
and how much rent of assise be paid yearly besides the works and
customs, and which of them may be taxed at the will of the lord,
and which not.
Customary tenants are those that hold their lands of their lord by copy
of court roll, after the custom of the manor. And there be many tenants
within the same manor that have no copies and yet hold by like custom
and service, at the will of the lord. In my opinion it began soon after the
Conquest. When William the Conqueror had conquered the realm, he
rewarded all those that came with him in his voyage- royal, accordin .
their degree. And to honourable men he gave lordships, manors, Is
and tenements, with all the inhabitants, men and women, d the
same, to do with them at their pleasure, And those honourable men
thought they must needs have servants and tenants, and their lands oceu
pied with tilling. Wherefore they pardoned the inhabitants of their lives,
and caused them to do all manner of service that was to be done, were it
never so vile, and caused them to occupy their lands and tenement
ENDING OF MAN0R8.
121
I tillage, and took of them such rents, customs and services as it pleased
them to have. And also took all their goods and cattle at all times at their
pleasure, and called them their bondmen. 31 Since that time many noblemen,
I
11 The history of the servile or it nfree population of England in Anglo-Saxon and
Anglo-Norman times is exceedingly obscure. One class of the community in Anglo-
Saxon times (though probably no Tcry great portion) was in a state of absolute
slavery. They were known in Saxon by the names of Theaw t Esn* and Thrall. Pro-
> they originally consisted of conquered Britons ; but, as criminals who could
ot pay the fiuo imposed by law, w ;*1e to this state, many of Teuton race
must in process of time have been comprised in this degraded ami suffering class.
The freemen of the land were classified by a broad division into the Ceorls s who
formed the bulk of the population, and the TAanes, who formed the nobility and
gentry. — (Creasy.) By a degradation of the Saxon Ceorls and an improvement in
the state of the Saxon Tkralh t the classes were brought gradually nearer together,
till at last the military oppression of the Normans, thrusting down all degrees of
tenants and servants into a common slavery, or at least into strict dependence, one
name was adopted for both of them as a generic term, — that of villeins regardant.—
II. Elijah Iut rod. to TJomesdag Book.) The techuical name for the kind of
lavcry which prevailed in An^Io-Norcmu England is villeinage. Some slaves were
and passed Into the dominion of the heirs or purchasers of
ose lands, whenever the ground, which was considered the more important pro-
, changed owners. These were called viilti m* regardant. Others were bought
: er to master, without respect to any land j and these were termed
in gross. It is probable that the number of villeins in gross was never very
but there are good grounds for believing that at the commencement of
ry the greater part of the labouring agricultural population of
nglaud (including not only actual furm labourers, but the followers of those bandi-
ts which are closely connected with husbandry, and were practised on the bud*)
ere villeins regardant, and were looked on merely as so much of the live stock of the
,d to which they belonged. — {Creasg.) Slavery always imports an obligation of
tual service j au obligation which only the consent of the master can dissolve.
It generally gives to the master an arbitrary power of administering every sort of
correction, however inhuman, not immediately allccting the life or limb of the slave ;
and sometimes even these are left exposed to the arbitrary will of the master, or
they are protected by fines and other slight punishments, too inconsiderable to
restrain the master's inhumanity. It creates an incapacity of acquiring, except for
the master's ben Hows the master to alienate the person of the stave, in tUe
manner as other property. Lastly it descends from parent to child, with all its
ere appendages. The condition of • villein involved most of these miserable
ts. The villein's service was uncertain aud indeterminate, being entirely
dependent in nature and amount on the caprice of his lord. In the emphatic terms
of some of our old law-writers, — " The villein knew not in the evening what he was
Mine mi
•vrere h
incident!
depends
nl irk mil
122
MAMECESTHK
both spiritual and temporal, of ibeir godly disposition, have made to divers
of the said bondmen, manumissions, and granted them freedom and liberty,
and set to them their lands and tenements to occupy, after divers manner of
rents, customs and services, the which is used in divers places unto this
day, , » . In many lordships there is a customary roll between the
lord and his tenants, and it Ottgbt to he indented, one part to remain in the
lord's keeping, the other part with the tenants, and divers true copies to be
made of the same, that the rents and customs run not out of remerabr:*
And also a suit-roll, to call all those by name that owe any suit to die
lord's court, and then shall there be no concealment of the suitors, but that
the steward may know who is not there ; and if any suitor decease, the
to do in the morning, but ho was bound to do whatever he was commanded." He
wm liable to heating, imprisonment, and every other chastisement that his lord
thought fit to iQili^t j except that the lord was criminally punishable if he act
killed or maimed his villeins, or if he violated the person of his neif t as a female
villein was termed. The villein was incapable of acquiring property for himself j the
rule being that all which the villein got became the lord's. He usually passed to eaeh
-sive owner of the laud, as if ho had been a chattel attached to it. But the lord,
if he pleased, could sever him from the land, and separate him from his family and
children, by selling him as a villein in gross by a separate deed. This wretched
dition of slavery descended to the children of villein parents; and even if the father
only was a villeiu, the children inherited the same sad lot from him. Indeed at oi
time Urn severity of the law was such, that if a villein who belonged to one lord
married a neif who belonged to another lord, the children of suoh marriage were
equally divided between the two slave-owners. — (Hargreaves's Jurisconsult Extrcita-
tiom,) The law, as established in the thirteenth century, gave large facilities for the
emancipation of vdieins, and placed difficulties in the way of any accession to their
number. ,.,...., As to the artixans and lower orders in our cities and towns, no
largo portion of them, if any, could at this period have been in a state of slavery. In
the time of Honry IL the villein from tho country who resided, unclaimed by hit
lord, for a year and a day in a town with franchises, became thereby free j and
difficult to suppose that any one born within a town would be in a worse conditi
The absolute slaves, tho theows and thralls of the Saxon time, cease to be mention*
soon after the Norman Conquest. The villeins in gross (who alone could be in
analogous position to that of those Saxon thralls who lived in the towns) were few
number throughout Anglo-Norman England; nor am I aware that any positive
mention of them in the towns ean be traced. Generally speaking we may consider
that villeinage in John 9 ! time existed only among tho rural population ; b
be remembered thai the relative proportion of the number of dwellers in the country
to the number of dwellers ia the towns was much greater than it baa become
modem times. — (CVe<wy an tk* Constitmiw*.)
(hap. XI EXTENDING OK MANORS. J 2tt
name of his next heir should be entered into the same roll, and an inquiry
made and presented what he held of the lord, and by what rents, customs
and services, of every parcel by itself, and who is his next heir, and what
age he is of; and this truly done and entered into the roll, it would be a
conveyance of descent in manner of a petty degree, and profitable to the
lords and also to the tenants. The name of every tenant must be put into the
roll, and his mese place to be butted and bounded, that it may be known
many years after who dwelled there ; and what lands, meadows and pas-
tures lay to the same at that time. And what works and customs the
tenant doth for every parcel, and what the works and customs be worth in
a year, and how much rent the lord doth pay for every parcel, besides the
customs and works ; to the intent that if any parcel of land, meadow or
pasture, be alienated, sold or changed, or put from one tenant to another,
the lord and his bailiff may know what rents, customs and works he shall
ask and have of the occupier for every parcel.
X. Cottages and Curtilages. — It is also to be inquired of
cottagers, that is to say, what cottages and curtilages they hold,
and by what service, and how much they do pay by the year for
all their cottages and curtilages.
There is not so much rents, heriots, customs and services, to be paid and
done, for a cottage, as there is for a mese place or a better tenement ; but
it may he like custom and service.
XI. Pleas and Perquisites of Courts. — It is also to be
inquired of pleas and perquisites of the counties, and of the courts
of the forests, with lawing of dogs [cutting off the claws of the
fore-feet], and how much they be worth by the year in all issues
[exitibus.]
The issues and profits of the counties, sessions and assizes are most com-
monly the king's, and they be kept and ordained by the sheriff and the
justices of the peace, that be ordained and put in commission by the king
and his council, and the issues and profits of them are estreated by the said
justices, and returned into the king's exchequer, and there they rest of
record, the which afterwards is estreated again, and sent down to the
sheriffs of every county, to levy and gather up the same, and thereof to
make an account in the said exchequer, and it is called "green- wax." And
124 MAMECE8TRE [Chap.X.
the courts of the forests be ordained and kept by the justices of the forests
and their deputies, and the issues and profits thereof, the which cometh
most commonly by fines and amerciaments, are not estreated into the
exchequer, but made out by the steward to the bailiffs and other officers of
them that owueth the forest. It should be ordained that every township
and hamell [hamlet] that ought to have common in any forests, chaces,
wastes, moors, heaths, and such other great commons, where divers town-
ships and hamells inter-common together, every township and hamell ought
to have a diverse burning-iron ; and every beast, horse, mare and colt that
is put upon the common, ought to be burned in some part of his body with
the said iron, and then shall every beast be known of what township he is;
and that were a great readiness to the keepers, and also a great safeguard
for stealing of the cattle. Then may the keepers, regarders, goysters, 82
and other officers of such forests and chaces, have perfect knowledge what
township the cattle is of. And if any of these officers find any cattle
having no such burning, they may attach them and seize them as strays, and
put them in safe-guard to the lord's use, till they be yered and dyed [t.e.
till they have been kept unclaimed a year and a day]. And they ought to
ask [cry] them three Sundays in three or four next parish churches ; and
also cry them three times in three the next market towns. And if no man
come within the year and the day, to make sufficient proof that the cattle is
33 Goysters, i.e. Agistors or Agistators ; so called because they take beasts to
agistment, that is to pasture within the forest, or to feed upon the pannage, and it
cometh of the French word gyser, to he, becauso the beasts feed there lying and
without rising. — (Co. 4, Inst. 293.) Agistare, to agist or to feed, and also agistor
mentum, the agistment or feeding of beasts, is derived of the Latin verb agito, to
drive, sometimes to feed ; of which the lawyers, by adding the letter a, have formed
agisto t to feed beasts or cattle with herbage or mast. Agistment is in two sorts, — the
agistment of the herbage of wood, lands and pastures ; and also the agistment of the
woods, which is the mast of tho woods, which by a more proper word, for difference
is called pannage By the assizes of Henry II. called the assizes of Wood-
stock, " the king commandeth that in every county in which he hath a forest and
venison, that there be twelve knights appointed to keep his venison in the same, and
that his verderers, with the foresters, four knights called the agistors, shall agist hit
woods and pastures, and also receive his pannage." For the agistors of the
king's forest are only to receive all the monoy for the agistment of the king's demesne
woods and lands themselves, and they are only chargeable to the king, to answer him
for the same, as it dotb appear by the assizes of the forest of Pickering, 8 Edward HI.
(Man wood's Forest Laws, cap. xi. sec. 3-6.)
Chap. X.] EXTENDING OF MANORS. 125
his, then it is forfeit to the lord as a stray. And in like manner the swine
and sheep of every township and hamell ought to he pitched with the said
burning-iron, or such another like the same. No man shall have forest of
right but the king, except he or his ancestors have had a special grant
thereof by charter of the king and his progenitors in times past, and so
used, &c.
XII. [Church] Patronages. — It is also to be inquired of
churches that belong to the lord's gift, how many there be, and
what, and where, and how much every church is worth by the
year, after the true estimation of the same.
Oft-times he that hath right to present to a church at one time, hath not
right to present to the said church at the next time. And that is where
any sole patron of a church hath issue, two, three, or four daughters, and
deceaseth, so that the rights of patronage of the said church descendeth to
all the said daughters. When the church is void they shall present by
turns, the eldest daughter first, &c, till they have presented once over, and
then begin again at the eldest daughter; except they make any other par-
tition amongst themselves by agreement. And so must the surveyor make
his book, according to the right of the presentation, as every time, second
time, third time, or fourth time, and so forth. Also what lords or gentle-
men have their turns with them in the said benefice, and which of them
presented last, and who shall have next, and who then, till they have gone
about, and in what town it is, and in what shire and diocese it is, and what
every benefice is worth by itself by the year, as it can be estimated.
XIII. Liberties, Customs and Services. — It is also to be
inquired what be the value of heriots, fairs, markets [escheats] 33
customs, services, and foreign works and customs, and what the
pleas and perquisites of courts, fines and reliefs, and all other
casualties, are worth by the year, that may fall in any of these
things.
When the lord would know what the extent is of all his whole lands,
and also of every particular parcel by itself, it were too long a process to
shew him all the particular accounts ; wherefore he will cause his auditor
33 Not in the original, but in (he English of the statute book.
126 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. X.
to make a value in abridgment of all the said account*, and first to know the
whole charge of all the particulars, what they be at first sight in the sums
total. Then to divide the sums total into divers parcels, as the chief rents
of the freeholders by themselves, the rents of customary tenants by them-
selves, tenants by indenture or tenants at the lord's will by themselves ; so
that he may make a gross sum of every manner of rent, so that one rent
may be known from another. Also the perquisites of the courts by them-
selves; and they must be in like manner divided, as the pleas by themselves,
the amerciaments for common trespass by themselves, fines by themselves,
heriots by themselves, escheats by themselves; and so of reliefs, fairs,
markets, and all other casualties, every of them by themselves, and ought
to be presented in the court by themselves. Customs, service, and works be
oft-time done by bodily services and works, and then they be not to be
accounted for, but yet mention should be made in the account thereof.
And many times such customs, services and works be turned into money;
and then it commonly goeth with the rents, and the bailiff or reeve is charged
therewith. As to "all other things that may fall to the lord, what they be
worth by the year ;" those may be taken as mines of tin, lead, ore [? copper],
coal, iron, stone, freestone, millstones, grindstones, limestone, chalk, fullers'
earth, sand, clay, gravel, broom, gorse or furze, marl, turves, thorns, wood,
bushes, heath, fern or bracken, and such other, if there be any new found, and
ought to be put in a rental to a certainty, or else to be put in an account by
way of approvement. Then the auditor may divide the casualties from the
certainties, and make a gross sum of them all ; and yet may the value of
everything appear, and be known how much it is by itself. And then must
there be deducted out of the said gross sura all manner of out-rents and
ordinary charges, as bailiffs' fees, reparation, and such other ; and then to
make a clear gross [t. e. nett] sum of every year by itself ; because oft-times
more casualties fall or come to the lord in one year than another. There-
fore it is convenient that the clear gross sums of five or six years, or more,
should be cast together in one gross sum, and to divide the sum into as
many parts as there were years cast together, and then the clear value of
one year will be commonly about that sum so divided. And thus endeth
the brief declaration of this statute " Extenta Manerii."
127
CHAPTER XL
PEOCEEDINGS ON THE DEATH OF KOBERT
GRESLET, SEVENTH BARON.
INQUISITIONS, a. d. 1282.
In 1273 Robert Greslet, — the seventh baron and the ward of
Henry III., and by deputy of Edmund Crouchback earl of Lan-
caster during his minority, — came of age, and performed his
homage to that king's successor, Edward L, in that year. From
the first to the fourth of that reign (1273-1276) he was summoned
to parliament by writ, as a baron. In 1277 he had a writ of
summons to perform military service in person against Llewellyn
prince of Wales, the muster being appointed at Worcester in the
Octave of St. John Baptist (June 24 to July 1). In pursuance of
this summons Robert Greslet acknowledged the service of two
knights' fees, "ratione baroniae suae," and performed this by
himself and three " servientes" (? Serjeants or officers) in the
expedition named. 34 In the 8 Edward I. (1279-80) when about
m The following is a translation of the " writ of military summons from Edward
I. to Edmund earl of Lancaster" for this expedition : — " Edward by the grace of God
king of England Ac. to his beloTed and faithful brother Edmund earl of Lancaster,
greeting. Whereas Llewellyn, son of Griffin, prince of Wales, and his accomplices,
our rebels, hare invaded our lands and those of our lieges in the Marches, and do
daily invade them, and therein perpetrate homicide and other enormous damages.
And the same Llewellyn, though he owes obedience to us, hath despised and doth
despise the same, to our prejudice and contempt ; and to the grievous damage and
injury of you and of others our lieges, for which already we are raising forces that
we may be at Worcester in the octaves of St. John Baptist next coming, to the re-
pressing of the rebellion of the said Llewellyn and his fautors ; we command you that
128 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XI.
twenty-eight years of age, Robert Greslet married Hawise, 85 .
daughter and coheir of John de Burgh (son of the celebrated
Hubert de Burgh, earl of Kent, by his second wife Beatrice,
daughter of William de Warenne) by his second wife Hawise,
grand-daughter of Hawise de Laungval or Lamvallet.
To this period may be assigned a deed without date, by which
Richard de Buron releases to Robert de Grelle his right to
common pasture in Mamecestre, with reservations in favour of his
men of Clayton. The first Richard de Byron, who was lord of
Clayton, was the son of the Sir John who married Alice, cousin
and heir of Robert Banastre. Richard had grant of free warren
in Clayton, Butterworth, and Royton in June 1308, and died
before 1347. The Robert Grelle, if one of the barons of Mame-
cestre, must have been the seventh, who died in 1282. The deed
is worth preservation for the boundaries it records : —
Richard de Buron, by a deed sans date releases for ever to Robert
Grelle [? seventh baron] and his heirs all the right I have, to the use of
the aforesaid Robert Grelle, in common pasture in the manor of Mame-
cestre, and in all the members and demesnes pertaining to the said
at the said day and place, ye shall come, with horses and arms, as due by your
service to us, ready with us to go forth in our expedition against the said Llewellyn
and his accomplices, our rebels. Witness myself at Windsor, the 12th day of De-
cember, in the fifth year of our reign," 1276. — (Rot, Claus. 5 Edw. I. m. 12. d.J
J6 In the parliamentary writs and writs of military summonses, we find that in the
year 1282, Hawise do Gresley (then about twenty-six years of age), widow of Robert
do Qresley (seventh baron), made fine for the service of one knight's fee, on the
occasion of the expedition of Edward I. against the Welsh, the muster being ap-
pointed at Rhuddlan on Sunday the 2nd August (pp. 232 and 239). Again in 1297,
she was returned from the counties of Nottingham, Sussex and Surrey, as holding lands
or rents to the amount of 20/. yearly value and upwards, either in capite or other*
wise, and as such was summoned under the general writ, to perform military service
Ac. in parts beyond the seas. Tho muster to be at London, on Sunday the 7th July
(pp. 289 and 294). By an inquisition post mortem 27 Edward I. (1299) Hawise was
found to have been possessed of the vill of Burstal (00. Leicester ;) Great Bromley
manor (Essex ;) Casterton manor (Rutland ;) Wakerley manor (Northampton,) and
the manor of Portslade with the church of Alrington, Estfield, and the pasture of
Littloden (co. Sussex.)
Cbap. XL]
INQUISITIONS, a.v, nS*.
129
;:
manor &c., saving to me and my heirs and my men of Qeyton common
pasture with the men of Atherdwic [Ardwick] within [or under] the
rwritten bounds, to wit: — From the ford of Medelae, hy Sal:
gate, as far as to the hedge [or ineloaure, mnh] of Cleyton, which ia
situated upon the Saltesgate, which descends from the house which
was that of Alexander Fnmceis, as far as into the Corn-broc, ami then
descending as far as into the iaelosure of Atherdwic, and by the in-
closure of Atherdwic as far as into the bounds of Bexwie, and by the
bounds of Bexwie to the bounds of Bradeford. and by the bounds of
Bradeiord to the Saltesgate. And Eobert Grelle &e. may inclose, till,
build upon, and ditch, all tho said land without impediment. Witnesses:
Sir Ralph de Ihunule [? llancotes], Sir Henry de Chetham, Richard de
Hilton, Ealph de Moston, Robert de Hilton, Adam de Ashton, Alan de
t ton, Richard de Braeebrig, John de Riaton and many others.
(Endorsed) Byron and Grelle. Release of common of pasture within
the manor of Mameeestre and boundary common* — (Trqffbrd lit
menf#J
Robert Gresiet died in his homage — that is, he had not been
formally invested with his lands — on Sunday the 15th February
1282 (10 Edward I.), — probably about thirty years of age;
leaving a son and heir, Thomas, of the tender age of three years,
and of course a ward of the king. This state of things rendered
necessary the issue of writs to inquire into the possessions of the
deceased baron, the age of the heir, &c, as required by law. Of
these writs to the escheator and the sheriff, and the returns thereto
of the inquisitions held, a record is preserved in the form of a closely
written document, nearly covering a sheet of parchment, which
Sir Oswald Moslcy has liberally placed at the disposal of the
Chethain Society, for the enrichment of this work. As this docu-
ment has never before been printed, both the original Latin and a
translation are subjoined. That two of the writs, one to the
scheator and the other to the sheriff, and the respective returns
to them, by records of the inquisitions held by juries, should be
all set forth on one sheet of parchment, is easily explained. The
whole is embodied in one instrument termed an u Inspeximus"
180 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XI.
from its first word ("We have inspected," &c.), and also an
" Exemplification," because it sets forth the very words of more
ancient records or documents, which, having been inspected, are
copied verbatim, or exemplified; and this attested and official
copy, made under the seal of some superior court, is legal evidence
in any court of law or equity. The seal which has been attached
to this document is gone; but the silk cords by which it was
appended remain.
As two inquisitions, or inquiries into the estates and possessions
of the deceased Robert Greslet, were made within eight days, and
before substantially the same jury, and are consequently of the
same import, and to a considerable extent are couched in precisely
the same terms, it has been thought best to give one entire, and,
omitting the other, to mark every verbal variation of the second
from the first, in notes. The inspeximus is apparently of the 29th
May 1513, 5 Henry VIII. : —
[INSPEXIMUS.]
HENRICUS 36 dei gra) Rex Anglie e Prancie e Dominus
Hifenie, Omib} ad quos ^sentes Ire pueSit, sattm. INSPEXIMUS
quoddam fer8 d'ni E. quondam Regis Angt primi post conquestum
pgenitoris nri) Thome de Normanuitt Escaetori suo vlf Trentam 37
directum f in Cancellar) suam retornatum in hec vba : —
K There is nothing to show positively to which of our eight Henries this nun*
applies ; but probably to the eighth and last monarch of the name.
37 Thomas de Normanville was probably the son of Gerard and Margery his wife,
of a Yorkshire family ; and this Thomas is called " Senescallus Regis" in a grant to
him 4 Edward I. (1275-6) of the custody of the castle of Bamburgh, which office he
held till the tenth year (128 1-2) when he was appointed to the same duties under the
designation of " king's escheator beyond Trent." This office he held (only exchanging
it for a short time for the southern escheatorship) till the twenty-third year (1294-5)
and it was probably in this official capacity that in 2 Edward I. (1283) he received
the king's commands and commission to remove the sheriff of Cumberland. He was
one of the justices itinerant for pleas of the forest only, in cos. Nottingham and
Lancaster in 14 Edward I. (1286). In the 20 and 21 Edward I. (129 1-3), he was
a regular justice itinerant appointed for Herefordshire and Surrey. He died in 23
Edward I. (1295). — (Foss's Judge* qf England, rol. iii. p. 135.)
CiiAi-. XL] INQUISITIONS, A.n. 12S2. 131
[WRIT TO THE ESCHEATOft.]
EDWARDUS dei grS Rex Angi Dominus hibn: £ Dux Aqui?
diico f fideli suo Thome dc Normanuitt Escaetori suo vlt a Trentam
saitm. Quia Robtus de Greilly qui de nob tenuit in capite diem
clausit extremu vt accepim^ vob mandam* 1 P omes ?ras f ten de
quib3 idem Robtus fuit seisitus in dnico suo vt de feodo in balliua 38
vra) die quo obiit capiatis in manu nram f ea saluo custodiri fac
donee aliud inde Jcepiin*. Ita q& de exitib3 t?raj f tenementoj
illo^ a die mortis ipius Robti nob respondere possitis ad Scac nrm
£ p sacru pbo^ f le§ ftomi de balliua vrS p quos rei vitas melius
sciri porit diligent inquirend quantum rre idem Robtus tenuit de
nob in capite in balliua vra) die quo obiit f quantum de aliis et p
quod Svicium f quantum rre f ten ilia valeant p annu vt in dnis
redditib} villenagiis feodis militum aduocacoib} ecctia^ f omib}
aliis exitib3 tre f quis ppinquior heres eius sit f cuius etatis. Et
inquisicoem inde distincte f apte fcam nob sub sigillo vro! f
sigillis eo* p quos fca fuit] sine dilone mittitus f hoc bre. T. me
ipo apud Dunamen xij die Marcij anno r 8 decimo. 39
Tnsfeximus eciam quandam inquisicoem coram pfato Thoma
ptextu bris p 9 da capta, et in eandem Cancellar! retornatum in hec
* In the Latin of that age ballivus is a bailiff; balliva, a bailiwick or the tract of
land orer which the bailiff exercises jurisdiction. In those times the bailiff was a
great officer, the name being derived from the French bayliff, equivalent to the pre-
fect of a province. It was customary for the vice-comes or sheriff of a county to
return to a writ of arrest that the person sought " is not to be found in my baili-
wick" — "in balliva mea" — so that a county, and in this case the whole of the dis-
trict north of the Trent, under the jurisdiction of the king's escheator, was termed a
bailiwick.
* Dunamen was probably Dunham, co. Essex; or perhaps Great Dunham, co.
Norfolk. There is also a Dunham, co. Notts. The date, 12th March, 10 Edward I.
(1282) was a few months before the king's departure for Wales, where he remained
about a year from November, 1282.
132 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XL
[ESCHEATOR'S INQUISITION.]
EXTENTA 40 Mai^h de Mamecestr 9 cum membkis. — Mame-
cestr* cum villis et hamelettis. — InquiS fca p pceptum dfii Regis
coram Thoma de Normanuift apud Mamecestr die Satfci in festo
sa Marci Eu ngeliste Anno r.r. E. decimo p Jotiem de 41 Byrun
* 2 Galfrm) de * 3 Bracebrigge "milites, «Galfnfl de 4 «Chathirton
Dauid de Hulton Alex) de 4 7Pilkynton Thomam de 48 Eston Robtm
de 49 Sorisworthe 50 Elys de Leuir Ri2 de 51 Radecliue Robm 5a Vnton
53 Adam de Cundecliue Adam fil Johis de Leuir, iuS. Qui dicont
p sacrm suu qd herba^ cu fructu garfl Mafiii de Mamecestr) vat p
annu ij 8 . 54 Et est ^fem quidam puis pcus que vocat r ^Aldepc et
Litheak 57 cuF herbag* cum panna^ 58 xxxiij* iiij d . Et est 5 ?ibm
quidam alius pcus que vocat r ^Blakeley cuius herbag 1 6l cu mortuus
boscus pannagiu et aeria 6a espuario£ f vai p annu vj u xiij* iiij d .
Et est ibidem quedam placea d'nico^ ?r [sic] et herba§ que vo2
63 Bradford f ^Brunhull £ vai p annu xl 8 . Et est ifcm quedam
placea que voc Grenlawmo f)dico* dnico* que vai p annu lxxvj 8
viij d . Et 65 est ifem quedam placea iux* crucem de ^Opynsawe
que vai p annu vj 8 viij d . Et 6 ?est ifem quedam placea que
vocat r Le 68 Hules 69 et vai p annu xiij 8 iiij d . Et quedam
placea que vocat r 7°Kepirfeld de pdco dnico 71 et vai p annu
40 What the inspeximus calls an inquisition, is intituled in the return itself an
extent (which denotes a survey and valuation) of the manor of Mameoestre ; and the
reader may test for himself how far, in this instance, the return was made as required
by the statute " Extenta Manerii," passed only six years previously. — (See chap, x.)
41 The following variations are found in the sheriff's inquisition: — Biron.
« Galfr. « Bracebrig. « [milites] omitted. « Galfr. « Chedirton. * Pil-
kyngton IS. ES. "Aston IS. ES. * Shoresword IS. ES. "Elis de Leure.
81 Badeolif. « Untoun ES. « Ad de Conteclif. " Qui dicunt p' sacr'm suu'
qd in man'io p'dc'o apud Mameo' est quodd' capit' mes' cum quibusd' domibj et
quod' gard' cuius fruct 1 et herbag' valent p' annu' ij $ . " Ibid. M Aldp'c V [and
Litheake] omitted. M Pannag' vai. p' annu*. M Ibid. • Blakelee. 8I [cum]
omitted. ° Bp'uar'. « vocat' Bradeford. M Bronhull. * [est ib'm] omitted.
08 Opinshale. * [est ib'm] omitted. « Le Hulles. " que. *° Keperfeld. *« [de
p'doo dn'ico] omitted.
up. XL]
INQUISITIONS, A.D, 128*.
133
iij 8 . 72 Sunt ibm due place? 3 que vocant r 7 4 Milnwarde-croft et
Sam et 76 vat p armu ix*. Et est ibtn quedain t'ra que vocat
6 KipircIif et vat 77 p annu iij* iij d , Et sunt 78 ibm due pfes rams
^iiatc fire in Denton que reddunt 79 p aunu iiij 8 ij d . Et est Bo ibm
xedam placea in Bl ffarnworthc 83 que reddit p aunu v*. Et est in
pdeo vuu molendinu 83 aquaticu ^quod val p annu xvij** vj 1
»oij J . Et quoddara molenduni full critic ura quod vat p annu xxvji
rij d . Et est ^ibrn quidara furnus f V. 86 p annu x a . Est ibi H7
Mitus assisus burgagioj* in Mamecestr que reddunt p annu ad
lativitatem dm 8y Annunciacoe be Marie Nativitatem Sa Johis
ap?e £ fni Sa Micfris vij u iij s ij d , 90 Theolonium nucati et ferie de
lamecestr* 91 ad pdcoa tminos vj h " xiij 5 iiij d . Et de redditu
io^ [q.d, arrariorum] iuxta villam ad pdcos tminos 92 xvij 8 vj d .
de redditu 93 dua& bouataj rre 94 in 95 Gpinschawe ad pdcos
Aminos viij 8 . Et de redditu ^sexdeeim. bouataa tre 97 de bondagio
Gorton ad pdcos Aminos ixiiij\ Et denrraa cuiusdam placea tre
eadeiu que vocat 1 tra ante, que reddit p annu 98 xx*. Et de inna
lius molendini in eadcra xxvj* viij d « Et firnia decern bouata*
noncm acra^ tre in Atlicriswyke in bondagio ad eosdem"
ainos xliij 9 . Et ibra qucdara placea que 100 vocat r r Twantirford
reddit p annu 9 ad pdicos 3 tminos vj B viij d , Et de firma decern 4
Duata^ tVc iu Curmisale in boudag 1 ad eosdera Aminos 5 xk Et de
redditu quaadani tr assartaa ibm ad pdicos tminos x s ij d . Et de
edditu libe tenentium forinseco^ teneutium de 6 Mamecestr 9 ad
lem tniinos vij 11 ix a viij* 1 . Et vS hostoriu sor de Thome de
P Et sunt ibi.
73 duo placea. 74 Mil warder oft.
1 que. * Eyp'clif,
r [p* annu'] omitted. ^ ibi duo. & et Talent. * ibi. 81 fFornword, « e ^
t ibi J molend. M et. * ibi. * furn 1 quo redd'. * Et e§t ibid',
» Natal*. m ad (before each of the four festiralB.) » TeoW. » l eadem.
! [ad p*do*o» Vminosj omitted. ' : fj. M t*re iu bondagio. ** OpensaL
* xvj. 97 in. w p* annu' ad t'minoa p'dVos. w Et de x bouatar' t're in boudag 1
f k, cum noucm aerie t're ad eosdera, Jtc. 10 ° do quadam placea t're que, &c.
Twant'ford. * [et reddit p* aunu' j omitted, 3 ad eosdera* 1 x. * t're in
in Cormeaale xl' ad eosdera Urmioos. ° de man*io do Mamecestr 1 .
184 MAMECESTRE. [Chip. XI.
Eston 7 ad festum Sa Michis et vna sagitta barbata de Ada de
Leuyr. Et de redditu 8 de Sakefe ad eosdem Aminos xlix 8 et de
firma Warde ad festum Natiuitatis Sa Jotiis Bapfe xlix 1 ij d et
q drantem. Et de firma quinc^ balliuo^ pedittl p balliuis sais fcend
p annu 9 ad pdais rminos 10 C 8 . £ de pquisitis cu3 burgi de Mame-
cestr 911 viij 8 et de plitis et pquisitis cur) baron) maflij 1 * O. Et
est ibm 13 quoddam feodum de Wythingto 14 quod debet p annu
quandam aruram xv acraj rre que vat p annu vij 8 vj d f quedam
consuetudo de eodc feodo ad metend in autumpno ptinent ad xxx
bouat rre que vai p annu ij 8 vj d . jf Sm* extenti maSii de Mame-
cestr 9 iiij iiij u xij 8 vj d et quadr? jf Heton Norrays. Sunt ifem
quadragin? acf) ?re in diiico cum 15 capitalo mesuagio et gardino
que val p annu xx 8 et quedam placea de eodem dnico que vocat r le
Milneridyng 16 et le Sporthe 17 que vai p annu xx 8 et quoddam 18
molendinu cuius due ptes reddunt p annu ad sup°dcos iiij rminos 19
xiij 8 iiij d £ de firma lifce tenen? ad pdiais ?minos p annu iij" x d ob.
£ de firma octo bouata^ tre in bondagio ad pdcos rminos xx 8 f de
redditu viginti quatuor 20 gallina^ de pdcis bondis ad Natale ij 8 f
de reddd 9 viij ouoj de pdcis 21 bondis ad Pascft iiij d f pann) bosci val
p annu vj 8 viij d . Et sunt ibi duo paria siroteca^ que Adam de
7 Et I oustoriu* do Tboma de Aston. " Hostorium" (Escheator) yeL " Oustorium"
(Sheriff) = Aster = Axis vcnatoria. In a computus of 1202, "Benaudus falcon-
arius, pro duobus Hostorus, et uno falcone," &c. (Du Cange.J It is a yariation,
perhaps corruption, of Austercus = Accipiter major, the female great hawk, or gos-
hawk, of which the male is the tiercel. Perhaps the word "Sor" in the text de-
notes that this hawk was to be a soar, i. e. of the age between taking from the eyry,
till she has mewed, or cast her feathers. In the Gentleman's Recreation, a treatise
of hawking and falconry, are directions " how to make the soar or haggard gos-
hawk." " Soar hawks are so called, because haying forsaken the eyry, and begin-
ning to prey for themselves, they soar up aloft for pleasure. Haggards are they which
prey for themselves, and also mew in the wood or at large." 8 [de] omitted. • [p*
annu*] omitted. 10 t'minos p' annu'. " Mamecestr 1 p' annu'. rt [man'ij] omitted.
u ibi. M Withinton. u ib'm in d'nico xl acr* t're arabiT cum, Ac. w yocat' Mil-
riding. 17 Spert. w xx". ad eosdem terminos et quoddam, Ac. w ad t'minos p'dio'os.
80 xxinj. 31 ejusdem.
Chap. XI.] INQUISITIONS, a.d. 1281. 135
Leuyr debit p annu. 22 Snf istius raaSii membr 9 Mamecestr 9 iiij u
yj» iiijd ob. jf Barton: Est ibi quodda gardinu cum una placea jTti
ex 4 gardinu cuius fructus et herbagiu vai viij 8 p annu. 23 Et xl acr)
rre in dnico et reddunt 24 p annu xxvj s viij d . Et quedam piscaria
que val p annu xviij d . Et due ptes molendino^ que vat p annu 26
xxx 8 et rcia ps molendini in manu 26 cuiusdam dne noie dotis. Et
de quadam rra posita ad rminu xxxviij 8 viij d . Et herba^ et
pannag* bosci valent ix 8 . 27 Reddi? assi§ lifee ten p annu xvij 8 xj d
ob. pquisitis hallemoti val 28 p annu v 8 . jf Snf Jda 29 maflii vj u
xvj 8 ix d ob. jf Keuerdeley. 30 Est ifem quoddam maSium cum
gardino cum duab} placeis ex a que vai 31 p annu vj s viij d . Est ifem 32
vj acr) rre arabiles de dnicis que vai p annu iiij u 33 j)s acre viij* 1 * 34
Et xiij acr) p a ti que vat p annu xxxiij 8 vj d ps acre ij 8 vj d f quedam
pastura que vocat r le Warche cum le Wodeheye 35 que vai p annu
xiij 8 iiij d pannagiu et mortuus boscus val p annu xiij 8 iiij d . Est ibi
quidam lib tenens qui tenet xij acras rre et duas acras p°ti et bosci
p uno claue galiofili. 36 Et de reddi? bondoj p annu 37 lviij 8 x d . Et
de redditu cottario* 38 iij 8 iiij d . Et due molendina unu ventritic et
aliud aquatic 39 que vai 40 p annu xx 8 pHta et pquisita hallemoti
iiij 8 . jf Sin 41 xj u xij 8 . jf Istud maSiu tenet r de diio Edmundo £
ij u ei 42 reddi? sed facit vnam sectam ad com lane? et unam sectam
ad wapentag* Derbie et est de Constabular) Cestr 9 jf Galfrus de
Chathirton 43 tenet de hereditate Rofeti Grelle I bou ?re in ffox-
" de Adam de Leuyr p' annu' ad f m So'i Mich'is. s val 1 p' annum vhj $ .
* de d'nico que val'. a p' annum ad p'dc'os t'minos. * t'cia p's eor' est
in manu, &o. v herbag' bosci cu' pannag*, valent p' annum ix*. * De redditf
Ac. [p' annum] et [val*] omitted. * istius. » Keu'dle. 81 Est ib'm
quoddam capital' mes' cum gardino et duabus placeis ex gardin' que val', &c. a Sunt
ibi. B in d'nico que val' p' annum ad p'dcos t'minos iiij u . ** [p' acre viij d ] omitted.
■Ward cum le Wodheye. M Est ibi quidam Will's qui tenet lib'e xij acras
f re and ij acras pHi and bosci p' I claue galiofili p' annum. v p' annum ad p'dc'os
t'minos. * cottarior' p* annum. M [unu' ventritic' et aliud aquatic'] omitted.
* redd*. 41 Sm* istius man'ij. n Et dicunt qd istud man'ium tenet' de dn'o Ed .
et y u reddit ei, &c. * Gulf, de Chaderton.
136 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. XL
denton p I d ad Na? f est de feodi 44 com line), jf fForesta de Hope-
worthe 45 jf . Sunt ibm octo 46 vaccarie £ una placea que non est
plena vaccar 947 val p annu xix u pannag* eiusdam foreste 48 cum aer5
espua* 49 que val p annu xl 8 . Sunt ibm tres fforestarii qui custo-
diunt forestam f ftebunt escapia 50 £ dant p annu lx 8 . jf Sm a forest
xxiiij 11 . jf Sm a tocius extente maflii j)dci cum membris put infra
patet cum foresta Cxxxj 11 vij» viij d quadrant, de quib} debent
subtrahi p firma debita dno Edmundo de antiqua consuetudine
vj u et xvj s et sic remanet de claro Cxxiiij 11 xj 8 viij d quadrant. Et
sciencP est qd maSiu de Mamecestr? Heton f Barton tenent de
dno Edmundo de honore Lane: p s 9 uic faciendo sectam ad com
Lane, f ad wapen? Salford 51 Nichil tenuit idem Robtus die quo
obiit de dno Rege in capite in pdeo maSiis. Thomas fit j)dci Robti
ppinquior heres eius est et exit de etate trium anno^ ad festum sea
laur] px futur 9 . Et idem Robtus diem clauS extremu xv die
ffebruar? jf 5a Johes de Birun tenet Wityngton 53 ad ?minu vite p
feodo vnius milit et fac 54 sectam ad Curie Baronie de 55 Mame-
cestr? de trib3 septimanis in tres septimanas. jf Rob de Lathum 56
Adam de Heton 57 Witts le Botiller Radulphus de Catteraft Gal-
frius de Writhinton 58 tenet Perbald Dalton £ Writhinton p feodi
I [vnius] mil. Et Thorn de Eston 59 fac sectam ad cuS p idem 60
te8 jf Idem Robtus tenet Terton et aliud Torton p quarta pte
* Natal 1 D'ni et est de feodo. « [de Hopeworthe] omitted. « Sunt ibi
yiij. * que. * [foreste] omitted. • afirijs sp'uar'. *° Sunt ibi tree
fforestarii custodientes forestam qui h*nt escapia, &c. M The following, omitted
in the escheator's, is given in the sheriff's inquisition: — "Et comes de fferrar*
h'uit homagiu' et s'uic' antecessor' do'i Bob'ti de p'dc'is man'iis." ° The long
passage in the text, [Sm* tooius extente, &c xt die ffebruar'] is omitted
in the sheriff's return ; the following standing in its place : — " ffeodi milit'. Sunt
ibi quinq; feodi milit' et di' feodi et t'cia pars vnius feodi, yidel't. J oh' de
Biron tenet Withington," &o. « Biron tenet Withington IS. Wythington ES.
•* pro I feodo ct facit, Ac. M [de] omitted. M Bob' de Lathom tenet
ohocton. v [Adam de Heton] omitted. * Writhington. M Aston.
60 eodem.
Chap. XI.] INQUISITIONS, a.d. 1281. 137
feodi vnius militis. 61 jT Idem Robtus tenet Childewalle p
mediet I feodi 69 vnius militis 63 et fa? sectam de cur) ad cuf) . jf
Wifts de Worthington tenet Worthington p medie? feodi vnius
militis 6 * e fa2 sectam de curl ad curl . (f Witts fii Witti de Andir-
ton 65 f Almaria 66 vx eius tenent Romeworthe 67 p rcia parte feodi
vnius militis 68 f facit [sic] sectam de Cu3 ad Cu!. jf Alex de
Pilkynton tenet Pilkynton 69 p quarte pte feodi vnius militis f
facit 70 sectam. MaQio de Barton cum membris tenet r p vno feodi
vnius militis et est 71 in manu dni. Heton tenet r p quarta pte feodi
vnius militis f est 73 in manu dni. Sra" feodo^ 73 . jf Aduocacoes
ecctie^. Sunt ibidem 74 tres ecclie (sic) que spectant ad donacoem
dni videit ecctiam de Mamecestr 9 CC. m. Childwelle 75 que valet
CC. m. Ayston 76 xx mcs.
INSPEXIMUS insup quoddam aliud bre eiusdem pgenitoris
nr? Vic 9 suo Lane directum" £ in eandem cancellar: suam retorna-
turn in hec vba : —
[WRIT TO THE SHERIFF.]
EDWARDUS dei gra! Rex AngP Dns Mm e Dux Aquit Vi2
Lane sltm. Quia Robus Grelle qui de nob tenuit in capite diem
clausit extremu vt accepim^ tibi pcipim^ qd omes rras et ten de
quibus idem Robo fuit seisitus in dnico suo vt de feodo in balliua
tua die quo obiit sine dilone capias in manu nram f ea saluo
custodiri fac donee aliud inde pcepim^. Et p sacrm pbo^ f leg
hom de com tuo p quos rei 9itas melius sciri potit diligent
inquiras quantum rre idem Robo tenuit de nob in capite in balliua
tua die quo obiit £ quantum de aliis, f p qd suiciii £ quantum rre
01 Turton et aliam Torton pro q'rta p'te unius feodi, et fact' sectam. • mediet'
I feodi. M [vnius militia] omitted. M eandem pro mediet' I feodi militis, Ac.
• Anderton. a Amaria. * Eemeworthe. a t'cia parte I feodi et Ac.
• eandem IS. Pilkington ES. *> p »te I feodi et. ? l facit Ac. I feodo et est
Ac. w p'te I feodi, et est Ac. tj [s m » feodor'] omitted. 7i Sunt ibi.
• Eccl'ie Cbildwalle. ™ et eccl'ie de Aston.
T
138 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XI.
ille valeant p annu in omib3 exitib3 f quia ppinquior heres eius sit
f cm* etatis. Et inquisic&em illam inde distincte f apte fcam no*
sub sigillo tuo f sigillis eop p quos fcS fuit sine difane mittffs £
hoc fcre. T. me ipo apud Diuises xv die aprilis anno r* fl
decimo. 77
INSPEXIMUS simili? quandam Exteutam coram j)fato vi2
virtute fcris pdci fcam f in eandem Cancellar : similit retornatu, in
hec vba : —
[THE SHERIFFS EXTENT.]
EXTENTA capta apud Mamecestr 9 coram HenS de Lee, Vice-
corn) Lane 78 p pceptum dni Re§ die d'nica px post fm apio^ Phi f
Jacobi anno r.r. E. decimo p Johem Biron [&c. at supra.]
[Last clause oflnspeximus and Exemplification.']
Nos autem tenores brium et inquisicionu j)dcto^ ad requisicoe
Rad^ Prestwych armig* duximus exemplificand: p psentes. In
cuius rei testimonium has l 9 ras n 9 ras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste
me ipo apud Westifl vicesimo nono die Maij Anno regni nii
quinto. Smyth.
[On the seal fold]
Ex* p Johem firankl ,.
f Thomam Smyth J
77 Devizes, co. Wilts. The 15th April, 10 Edward I. (1282), was just one month
and three days after the writ of 1 2th March to the escheator. The comparison be-
tween them, as to the precise points of inquiry, will be best made from the trans-
lations of the two documents.
7 s Henry de Lea's lineage has been deduced from Warm de Lancaster, a lineal
descendant from Ivo Talbois, earl of Anjou and baron of Kendal, temp. William I.
It will suffice here to state that a John, son of a Warin, was lord of Lea, and that in
the 27 Henry III. [1242-3] he left a son Henry de Lea or du Lea [near Preston]
who was twice or three times sheriff of Lancaster, and died 17 Edward I [1288-9]
possessed (according to the inquisition post mortem taken that year) of the manors of
Chernock, Meles and Lea, and of lands in Quarlton. Great discrepancies prevail aa to
the shrieval years of Henry de Lea. In the list of sheriffs in Baines's Lancashire (toI.
ii. p. 202)compiled from the MSS. of Hopkinson and Eenyon, collated with a MS. list,
derived from the Pell Bolls, these years are stated to be 1277, 1284, and 1285, and
Chap. XI.] INQUISITIONS, a.d. 1282. 139
INSPEXIMTJS.
HENEY, by the grace of God, king &c. to all to whom this present
letter shall come, greeting. WE HAVE INSPECTED a certain writ
of the lord Edward formerly king of England, the first after the Con-
quest, our progenitor, to Thomas de Normanville, his escheator beyond
Trent, directed, and into his chancery returned, in these words : —
WEIT TO THE ESCHEATOE.
"EDWAED &c. king of England &c. to his beloved and faithful
Thomas de Normanville, his escheator beyond Trent, greeting. Foras-
much as Eobert de Greilly, who held of us in chief, has closed his last
day [diem clausit extremum], that we may receive them, we command
thee that all the lands and tenements of which the same Eobert was
seised in his demesne as of fee, in thy bailiwick, on the day on which he
died, thou take into our hand, and that thou makest safe keeping of
them, until we shall command otherwise. Also that concerning the
issues of the lands and tenements of him Eobert, from the day of his
death, thou mayst answer to us, at our chancery ; and by the oath of
good and lawful men, of thy bailiwick, by whom the truth of the mat-
ter may be better known, diligently to inquire how much land the same
the sheriff of 1282 is Richard de Hoghton. In a note to the Whalley Coucher Book,
p. 42, Mr. Hulton states that Henry de Lea was sheriff of Lancashire in 1276, 1277
and 1283 ; so that he too omits 1282, which most have been one of the years of Henry
de Lea's shrievalty, or the king's writs could not have been addressed to him. In a
printed list of sheriffs, stated to have been compiled from various old MSS., we find
the following entries : —
3 Edward I. (1274-75) Henry de Lea.
9 „ (1280-81) Gilbert de Clifton and Henry de Lea.
11 „ (1282-83) Henry de Lea.
This seems to be the most correct account of Sir Henry de Lea's shrieval years and
the last entry agrees in date with the two writs and the returns thereto in the text.
All the printed lists of sheriffs of Lancashire that we have seen, are exceedingly im-
perfect ; and are very inaccurate both as to dates and the orthography of names. A
much better calendar of sheriffs than any extant might be constructed by the aid of
such works as the Whalley Coucher Book, and of reference to extensive collections of
old deeds, royal writs, Ac. To a dateless deed (WhaHey, Coucher Booh, p. 42) "Sir
Henry de Lee, then sheriff of Lancashire," is the first witness and " Sir Geoffrey de
Braoebrugg > 9 then steward of Mamecestre," the second. This was probably in 1282.
. 140 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. XI.
Bobert held of us in chief in thy bailiwick, on the day on which he
died, and how much of others, and by what service, and how much
those lands and tenements are worth by the year, as in demesnes, rents,
villenages, knights' fees, advowsons of churches, and all other issues of
land ; and who his nearest heir may be, and what his age. And the in-
quisition, for that cause clearly and openly made, to us, under your
seal and the seals of those by whom it is made, without delay is to be
sent, with this writ. Witness me myself at Dunham on the iath day
of March, in the ioth year of our reign." [12th March, 1282.]
We have also inspected a certain inquisition before the afore-
said Thomas, by virtue of the aforesaid writ, taken, and returned into
the same chancery, in these words : —
THE ESCHEATOB'S INQUISITION.
EXTENT OF THE MAKOB OF MAMECESTRE, WITH ITS MEMBEB8.
Mamecestre with the vills and hamlets.
Inquisition made by the precept of the lord the king, before Thomas
de Normanville at Mamecestre, on Saturday on the feast of St. Mark
the Evangelist, in the ioth year of the reign of E.[dward II.] [Satur-
day, April 25, 1282], by
John de Byrun 79 Geoffrey de Bracebrigge, knights f°
79 Of the twelve jurors two were knights, and the remaining ten were all free-
holders of lands in the neighbourhood of Mamecestre. Sir John de Byron, knight,
was the eldest son of John de Byron, the governor of York, by his wife Joan,
daughter of Sir Baldwin Teutonicus, Thyers or Tyas, and widow of Sir Bobert
Holland, the secretary of Thomas earl of Lancaster. With this lady he reoeired by
gift from her father the large estates in Rochdale, which afterwards became the
barony of the Byrons. Sir John the son, the juror in these inquiries and one of the
witnesses to the charter of 1301, was styled lord of Clayton in the 29 Edward L
(1301). He married Alice, cousin and heir of Bobert Banaster of Hindley, 00. Lan-
caster. Their eldest son was Sir Richard Byron. Fobs, in his Judge* of England
(toI. iii. p. 69) thus notices the two Johns, father and son : — A separate commission
of Trailbaston was issued 13th March, 1305 (13 Edward I.) for the county of Lan-
caster, addressed to two justices, one of whom was John de Byrun. In the follow-
ing month Lancashire was consolidated with the other northern counties, in a new
commission in which his name was not included. {Pari. Writs, toI. i. pp. 407, 408).
The father of John de Byrun, the justice itinerant de Trailbaston, was
seated at Clayton and appointed one of tbe conserrators of the peace for Lancashire
:rmp> xi.j
INQUISITIONS, a.d. 1182.
141
vy da Chathirton 81
David de Hulton 63
Alex: de Pilkynton 1 *
Thomas dfl 1^'
in the 15 Edward I. 1286-7* (Part. WriU % vol. i. p. 3 8 9). Ho was sheriff for
Yorkshire boy en yens 21 Edward I. [1195-1300], (eee Fuller's Worthies),
ad was actively engaged in raising forces" for the Scottish wars. In the 28 Edward
{1300) he held a high place in the commission to perambulate the forests of York-
nire and the neighbouring counties- John the son, for the first nine years of Edward
(1307-1316} held tin equally prominent position in Lancashire (Pari, Writs,
roL i. pp. 299, 398, vol. ii. pp, 8, 17) j after which he is not mentioned. Fobs says
that some little confusion arising from the identity of name, renders it difficult to
distinguish precisely the acts of the two Johns.
80 (Page 140,} Sir Geoffrey de Bracebrugge or Bracebridgc, knight, held the then
high and important office of seneschal or steward of the manor of Mamcoeatre ; an
office, even so lute as the reign of Elizabeth, not considered beneath the dignity of
an earl of Derby to hold. Geoffrey was probably a descendant of the Robert de
Braecbru gg to whom one of the Albert Greslets gave four oigangs of land in
his lordship of Mamocestre. (See Teda de Nevill, p. 75, antr)
81 Geoffrey do Chaderton was tbe second sou of Richard de Trafford, who be-
queathed to him tbe lordship and manor of Chadertou, on which Geoffrey changed
his surname from Trafford to Chadertou. He left a son Henry, who according to a
roll of pleas of 20 Edward I. (1291-2) had to resist a claim set up by his kinsman
Henry de Traflbrd to recover the manor of Chadertou, on the plea that their com-
mon grandlather Richard deTrafford was "non compos mentis" when he devised this
possession to his second son. The plea was over- ruled and the possession confirmed
in accordance with the will of the testator. (Rot. Placit. apud. Lane. 10. Edward
I, in the Chapter House, Westminster*)
*- David de Hulton was the son of Richard (see note 49 p. 69) and grandson of
Jorverth de Hulton. His uncle Robert, by charter, gave all his lands in Hulton to
David and his heir; hence be is styled u senior lord of Hulton," He married Agnes,
daughter of Adam de Blackburne, and died before 1304, when his eldest son Richard,
of Hulton Park, had a charter of free warren in his demesne lands of Hulton, Ords-
hall, Fliitou and FTeaton.
■ Alexander do Pilktngton was the son of Alexander, grandson of Leonard and
great grandson of the Leonard Pilkington, who is said to have fought under Harold
at the Battle of Hastings. This Alexander, according to old deeds, was living in
1262-1278, and here ho was a juror in 1282 (see note 81 p. 79). He left two sons,
Roger or Robert, and Richard. The former inherited the Pdkington estates j while
'.•-' younger (Richard) his father gave Rivington, and he thus became the pro*
r or Rivington branch of the family.
** Thomas de Eston or Aston may have been either of Ormeston (i.e. Urmston) or
f Ashton-undcr-Lyue, and it is useless to speculate on his identity.
142 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XL
Eobert de Sorisworthe 85 Eobert Unton 88
Elys de Levir 86 Adam de Cundeclive 89
Richard de Badeclive 87 Adam, son of John de Levir 90
jurors : who say upon their oaths —
That the herbage with the fruit [in the] gardens of the manor [house]
of Mamecestre are worth yearly ij*.
And there is in the same place a certain little park, which is called
Aide-pare and IAthe-ak ; 91 of which the herbage with the pannage [is
worth] xxxiij* iiij d ."
And there is there a certain other park, which is called Blake-ley,
85 Robert de Sorisworthe or Shoresworth was of an ancient family, taking their
name from their small patrimonial estate, consisting of " one messuage and sixty
acres of land called Shoresworth," in the township of Pendlebury. This Robert de
Schores worth (as he is therein named) witnessed a deed of Robert de Grealet in 1276.
(See note 53 p. 70.) It is probable that this Sohoresworth was the same place with
Chadesworth, coupled with Pendlebury in the Testa de Nevill, p. 80 ante.
88 Ellis or Elias de Lever was doubtless of that ancient family, but their early
pedigree does not enable us to identify him.
* Richard de Radcliffe of Radcliffo Tower, was called " the old" to distinguish him
from others of the name. In the 4 Edward I. (1276) he had a writ of novel disseisin,
and held lands, Ac., in Tottington, of the fee of Roger de Montbegon. He accom-
panied the king in his wars in Scotland, and obtained from him a charter for free
warren in his manors of Radcliffe and Quarndon, in the thirty-second year of his
reign, 1304. — (Sot. Chart. 32 Edward I. mem. 17.)
88 Robert Unton we cannot identify ; but he was probably of the same family with
a Richard Unton and Alice his wife, named in two deeds relating to Droylsden, of
1414 and 1416.
• Adam de Cundeclive (the original form of the existing surname of Cunliffe) we
have not traced. The name is doubtless local, from Cunliffe, a hamlet in the town-
ship of Rishton, parish of Blackburn, distant three miles N.E. from filaokburn.
There was of old a Cunisclyve in co. Northumberland.
90 Adam, son of John de Lever, was living 1 Edward I. (1273). He married
an Agnes or Avis, and probably died before 27 Edward L (1299), leaving a ton
John.
91 It may be well to state here once for all, that any observations on the etymology
or orthography of local names will be reserved for a later part of this work. In the
translations of these records, we have ventured to suggest the origin or derivation of
local names, by dividing long compound words into what seem their component parts,
by the use of the hyphen.
83 For the valuing of herbage and pannage, &c., see chap. x. see. vi. ante.
Cuap. XI.] INQUISITIONS, a,o. ii8 2 , 1 13
of which the herbage, with t lie wind-fall wood* peonage and airy of
s|KiiTuwh:i\\ ks [etpemrioftun] 11 arc worth \ early. vj h xiij" ilij***
And there is Mine a certain plot of demesne lands and herbage, 9 "
called JJ iiid Ftrua-JtttlL and it is wurth yenrK
And there is there I certain plot which is called <> norc, of
the same demesne hinds, winch is worth yearly Ixxvj* viij d .
And there is there a certain plot, near the cross of Opt/ n -naive, which
is worth yearly vj" riy*
And there i« there a certain pfol which is called Lr Hides and it
is worth yearly \nj* iiij d .
i in plot which ia called Kepir-fehh <rf the aforesaid de-
e, and worth yearly iiijv
ere are there two plots winch are called Mrfu-ivtmle-Croft and
tid [t'ra Sain] and they are worth yearly ix*.
And there is t lie re certain land which is called Kiper-clif [or Keeper-
cliff] and is worth yearly iij" iij d [«<?.]
And there arc in the same place two parts of one oxgnilg of land in
bieh pay yearly iiij* ij',
And there is there a certain plot in Tfarrhworfhe which yields yearly v*.
And tliere is in the aforesaid manor one wnt> r-niill, which is worth
pearl j* viij\ and a certain falling-mill, which is worth yearly
* Mortnu* bote**, or Mori-boU is the wind-fall wood in a forest. The prior of
Lancaster had by charter every day two cartloads of morte-boy* to be burned in hie
riory ; and because he took viridem boseum (green or living wood) pro mortvo botco,
I ary to his charter, the benefit and profit of his estovers was seized into the hands
of the lorda of the forest. For the which the prior made fine to have his estovers
again 3/, 6j, 8rf. [i.e. five marks] and he had bis estovers again. — (Itiner. Lane, jo
Edward IIL 1336, foL 65 »-)
** Every freeman shall have within his own woods aeries of hawks [i.e. gos-hawks]
sparrow-hawks, falcons, eagles and herons, and shall have also the honey that is found
in his woods. — (Carta de Foresta t cap. 13,)
m 6L 1 3s. 4**, seems a large yearly issue from a park in the thirteenth century. Jt
was derived from four Bourees, — the grass, the wind-fallen wood, the rent paid for
feeding pigs on the mast in the time o( pannage, and from an aery of sparrowhawks.
These birds were long valued at 1 id. each. For the valuing of parks and demesne
woods, see chap. 1. sec, iv. ante. For pannage, &c, see same chapter see. vi»
* For the valuation of the demesne lands, with the herbage, &c., see chap. 1. sec.
, ante.
T * For the extending, or surveying and valuing of mills, &c, see chap, x* see. vii.
144 MAMECESTBE. [Cbap. XI.
And there is there a certain oven [or bake-house], and it is worth
yearly x\ w
There is there an assise rent" of burgages in Mame-cestre which yield
ante. At the lord's water corn-mill, all the burgesses and tenants of Mameceatre
proper were bound to grind, paying a multure or miller's toll, and from this source it
will be seen the miller paid a large rent to the lord. The fulling or walke mill was
on the Irk, and gave the name to the Walkers' (i.e. Fullers') Croft. Corn being a
more universal necessary than woollen cloth, the rent paid by the fuller was much
less than that of the corn miller, being only two marks yearly. In his BoJte of
Surveying, Sir Anthony Fitzherbert thus specifies the various kinds of mills which
the lord of the manor may set up on his standing and running waters, to his great
ease and profit : — On the great rivers corn-mill* that be called ground-milli, because
the over side of the head-sill lyeth even level with the over side of the ground in the
bottom of the water. Fulling-mills, otherwise called TPofifo-mills, may be made in like
manner, and stand also upon the great rivers. These mills, he says, may not be turned
by the great stream, but have water conveyed to them by a mill-fleme [stream, gate
or goit] artfully made ; or they may be set upon small rivers, without any fleme ;
but only as wear and floodgates. There be two manner of corn-mills, — a braste mill
and an overshot mill. These be set to go most commonly on small brooks, and upon
great pools and meres. [He describes how they work by ladles or buckets.] Another
manner of fulling-mills may be set to go upon the small brooks, pools or meres, called
fellers. [He describes the working-parts. He enumerates without description wind-
mills and horse-mills. Elsewhere, in the same treatise, he thus refers to the lord's
mill] : — A wind-mill whereunto all the lord's teuants are bound to grind all their
corn and malt that they occupy of their own, at the said mill, as well free tenants as
other. And the lord shall find all manner of timber and iron-work, board and nails,
and bring them to the' mill, and the milner shall nail up the boards, make his shafts,
and the sail-yards, uphold and re- par ell the spindle and the rind, the mill-pikes and
the sail-cloths, cog and rung, at his own proper cost and charge. And [the milner]
shall pay by the year 20*. at the terms there usual, and to grind the lord's corn and
malt toll-free, and to grind it first, next to the corn that is in the hopper, if
"any be, Ac.
96 The lord's oven or bakehouse at which all the burgesses and tenants of the town
were bound to bake, is not particularly specified in the Statuta Manerii, but is
doubtless comprehended under the general head of " Customs and Services" (chap. x.
sec. xiii. ante.) It was held that a custom to have a common bakehouse in a manor
or parish, for all the tenants or inhabitants, is a good custom. — (2 Bulst. p. 198.)
The text nowhere states what was the ordinary baking-fee ; but it is probable that the
lord's bakehouse was let to a baker at a yearly farm or rent of 10*., the baker re-
ceiving all the baking fees.
" Bents of Assise (redditu* Assitat) are the certain, fixed, or set rents of free-
holders and ancient copyholders, because they are assised and certain, and distin-
Chap. XL] INQUISITIONS, a.d. uSa. 146
yearly, at the Nativity of our Lord, at the Annunciation of the blessed
Mary, at the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, and at the Feast of St.
Michael, vij u iij* ij d .
The tolls of the market and the fair of Mdmecestre, at the aforesaid
terms, vj u xiij* iiij d . 100
And of the rent of the plough lands near the vill, at the aforesaid
terms xvij* vj - . 1
And of the rent of two oxgangs of land in Opin-schawe, at the afore-
said terms viij\
And of the rent of sixteen oxgangs of land of [or in] bondage
[tenure] in Gorton, at the aforesaid terms lxiiij*. 3
And of the farm of a certain plot of land there, which is called the
land of the Hall [or Hall land ="t , ra aule"] which yields yearly xx\
And of the farm of one mill in the same place [Gorton] xxvj'
viij d .
And of the farm of ten oxgangs and nine acres of land in Atheris-
Wyke in bondage [tenure], at those terms, xliij\
And there is there a certain plot which is called Twantir-ford, and it
yields yearly at the aforesaid terms vj § viij d .
And of the farm of ten oxgangs of land in Curmi-sale [Crumpsall]
in bondage, at those terms, xr\
gushed from redditus mobiles^ or shifting rents.— (2 Inst. fol. 19.) The assise or
fixed rent for a single burgage in Mainecestre was iid. yearly; at least that is set
forth in the charter of 1301, only nineteen years later than this inquisition. If, then,
we take the total lord's assise rent of burgages (7/. 3*. 2d.) to be made up of so many
separate shillings as there were burgages in the town, we get a total of about 143
burgages.
100 The lord of the manor had nearly as largo a rental from the tolls of his weekly
Saturday market, and his yearly three days* fair in September, as from all his burgage
rents. In the statute " Extenta M anerii," the issues from markets were inoluded in
sec. xiiL " Liberties, Customs and Services" (chap. x. ante.)
1 The original has " arariorum" forte" aratrorum. " Aratrum terns" is as much
as can be tilled with one plough. Thus wo have " Hoc manerium est 30 aratrorum."
{Thorn. A.D. 616.) This manor is of thirty ploughlauds. Hence aratura terra is the
service which the tenant is to do for his lord in ploughing his land. — (Jacob.)
* Bondage (bondagium) is a servile tenure, differing from mllenagei and of
bondagers or bondmen some were so by birth or stock (de stipite) and others by
bond contract or agreement (convenHonarii).
u
146 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XI.
And of the rent of certain assarted lands there, at the aforesaid
terms x' ij d . 8
And of the rent of the free tenants, foreign [or outside] tenants of
Mamecestre, at those terms vij B ix' viij d . 4
And one soar gos-hawk [hostoriu' sor'] from Thomas de Eston, at
the Feast of St. Michael, and one barbed arrow from Adam de
Leuyr. 5
And of the rent of Sakefe [sak-fee] at those terms xlix*.
And of the farm of the warde [? castleward] at the Feast of the
Nativity of St. John Baptist xlix" ij d farthing.
And of the farm of the five Foot-Bailiffs [quinque ballivor* peditu']
for having their bailiwicks, yearly at the aforesaid terms, C\
And of the perquisites of the court of the borough of Mame-
cestre viij\
And of the pleas and perquisites of the court-baron of the manor s . 6
3 Assarted lands (assarta, from French astartir, to make level or plain ; perhaps
from exaratum, or exartum, ploughed or cut up) are lands originally wood or forest,
but from which the timber has been cut and the roots grubbed up, so as to make the
land arable. It was an offence to assart land in the forest without license.
4 A freeholder may dwell out of the precinct of the lord's manor, and yet hold his
land of the said manor. (See chap. x. sec. viii. ante.)
* These renders, in the place of money rent, are what are called rent services, and
they are " entire," and of " things pleasurable," as a hawk, an arrow, Ac. They pro-
bably originated in the marriage of a daughter of the grantor with the grantee. Of
this nature, too, are what are now called nominal rents, as a pepper-corn, a clove, a
pair of gloves worth a penny, a rose in June, a penny knife, Ac. For gos-hawk see
note 7, p. 134 ante. As to Thomas de Eston, we have seen by the Testa de Nevill
(p. 76 ante) that Albert Qreslet senex gave to Orme, son of Eward or Aylward, a
carve of land in Eston with his daughter Emma in marriage, to be held by a rent of
10*. yearly.
6 The rent of sac-fee, the farm of ward, and the farm of the fire foot-bailiffs (the
chief bailiff having a horse allowed him) are so many rents paid to the lord by those
who farm the collection of rent, or hold office of profit under the lord. Probably
each foot bailiff paid 20*. yearly to have his office. Of the two courts mentioned the
former (the port-mote or portemanmote, from portus, a town, mote meeting) was a
small court with small fees, held by the burgesses for petty matters ; the other was
the great " court baron" of the lord of the manor, held at first every three weeks,
afterwards twice a year (with the court •loet) about Easter and Michaelmas, when all
burgesses and other tenants of the manor were bound to appear, and do suit and
service. The perquisites of this court were received in the first instance by a clerk of
the steward.
Chap. XI.] INQUISITIONS, a.d. 1282. 147
And there is there a certain fee of Wythvn-ton, which owes yearly a
certain day's plough-labour [or sowing, aruram] of xv acres of land,
which is worth yearly vij" vj a . 7
And a certain custom of that fee to reap in autumn, belonging to xxx
oxgangs of land, which is worth yearly ij' vj d . 8
X*
The sum [or total] of the extent of the manor of Mamecestre, iiij
iiij" xij' vj d qr. [84/. 12*. 6id.] 9
HETON NOBKAYS.
There are there forty acres of land in the demesne, with a capital
messuage and garden, which are worth yearly xx\
And a certain plot of that demesne, which is called le Mxlne-ridyng
and le Sporthe [or Sperthe] which is worth yearly xx\
And a certain mill, of which two parts yield yearly, at the aforesaid
four terms, xiij" iiij d .
And of the farm of the free tenants, at the aforesaid terms, yearly iij"
x d halfpenny.
And of the farm of viij oxgangs of land in bondage [tenure], at
the aforesaid terms, xx".
And of the rent [or yield] of xxiiij hens [or poultry : gallinaru?] of
the aforesaid bordars [? bondis] at Christmas [Natale] ij".
XX
And of the rent of viij [eight score, or 160] eggs [ovor'] of the
aforesaid bordars at Easter iiij d . 10
7 Ducange gives two meanings in v. Antra: 1. Ager satus; a sown field, and 2.
AratiOy a ploughing or tilling.
8 These two customs are of what is termed servile tenure or villenage. Plough-
labour of fifteen acres in the one case, reaping in the other of thirty oxgangs, are the
terms by which the tenants held their land of the lord, — these services being done
by them without wages. As to reaping by custom, see note 22 p. 24 ante.
9 The lord's revenue from his manor from the sources specified in the text, though
seeming a small sum to the modern reader, should be multiplied at least fifteen
fold, to represent its true money value to our minds. This would give a total of
1269;. 7#. 6d.
10 The small rents in kind, as these of hens and eggs, are said to have been paid by
the bondis; but this may be an error of the transcriber, and the original word may
have been bordariis % which may be rendered bordars or borde-tenants. This class of
servile tenants, often named in Domesday, had a lord or cottage, with a small parcel
of land allowed to them, on condition that they should supply the lord with poultry
and eggs, and other small productions for his board or entertainment. (Jacob.
148 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XI.
And the pannage of the wood, worth yearly vj* viij d .
And there are there two pairs of gloves, which Adam de Leuyr owes
yearly. 11
The sum of this manor, member of Mamecestre, is iiij u vj' iiij* half-
penny. 13
BAETON.
There is there a certain garden, with a plot of meadow outside the
garden, of which the fruit and herbage are worth Tiij* yearly.
And xl acres of land in the demesne, and they yield yearly xxvj" viij 4 .
And a certain fishing [or fishery] which is worth yearly xviijV 3
See also in v. Bord-land, Bord-lode and Bord-service.J A census gallinarmm or
poultry -rent is mentioned in the liberties of the town of Villereys in the yemr 1253.
A rent of poultry, — capons, — is also mentioned in charter of Charles II., king of
Sicily, in 1303. (See Ducange v. Qallinarum). A rent of "gallinas xl" (forty hens)
occurs in Domesday. The rent of hens was paid at Christmas, when there was a large
provision of good cheer at the manor-house. The rent of eggs was at Easter, when
eggs were in great demand, both for culinary purposes, and as Pasche or Pace eggs.
11 Among9t the small nominal renders, by way of rent or service, to the lord, one
of the most common was one or more pairs of gloves; "pars chirothecarum, vd
cirothecarum." Sometimes "white gloves" were designated. Gloves were given to
bishops on their creation, to sergeants-at-law on their receiving the coif; and to
servants and workpeople on the completion of some particular work, as on the com-
pletion of Gawthorpe Hall. (See Shu tile worth Accounts.) These gifts were sometimes,
at a later time, commuted for money, called " glove-silver." Thus amongst the ancient
customs of the Abbey of St. Edmund was giving to tlie servants glove-silver at the
feast of St. Peter, viz., to the clerk of the cellarer twopence, the esquire of the cel-
larer elevenpence, the granger or farmer elevenpence, and tho cow -herd (vaccarius)
one penny. (Cart. St- Edm. MS. 323). Glove-money has also been applied to
extraordinary rewards given to o dicers of courts, &c. It is now given on the circuits
[and at sessions] by the barristers to the crier of the court. — (Jacob.)
11 The various items of issues &c. in Heton Norris, make a total of 4/. 6s. i\d. 5
so that the twopence wanting to agree with the total in the text, must be the value of
the two pairs of gloves, which constituted the render of Adam de Lever for his
possessions in this township.
18 For fisheries or fishings, and the mode of valuing them, see chap. x. sec. 7, ante.
Sir Anthony Fitzherbert iu his Soke of Surveying observes : There be divers
manners of waters, that is to say, standing waters, as pools, meres, moats, and stews ;
and also running waters, as great rivers, small rivers, brooks, suches [sikes or ditches],
well-springs and pits. Then what profit may come to the lord out of them P The
lord may set [or let] the fishings of all these said waters to his tenants for certain
rent, and he may reserve to himself certain fish, or to fish certain times, or at any
time at his pleasure.
Chap. XI.] INQUISITIONS, a.d. 1282. 149
And two parts [»'. e. two-thirds] of the mills, which are worth
yearly xxx 1 .
And the third part of the mills, [is] in the hand of a certain lady, 14 in
the name of dower.
And of certain land laid out [or planted, t'ra posita] at the terms,
xxxviij* yj d .
The herhage and the pannage of the wood are worth ix\
The rent of assise of the free tenants yearly xvij* xj d halfpenny.
The perquisites of the Hallemote are worth yearly y\
The sum [or total] of the aforesaid manor vj u xyj g ix d halfpenny. 16
KEUBDELEY.i*
There is there a certain manor-house with a garden, with two plots
outside [the garden], which are worth yearly vj* viij d .
There is there six score [120] acres of arable land, which are worth
yearly iiij" ; worth tbe acre viij d .
And xiij acres of meadow, which are worth yearly xxxuj g vj d
[? 32*. 6d.~] ; worth the acre ij' vj d .
Also a certain pasture which is called le Warche with le Wood-heyc,
which is worth yearly xiij* iiij d . 17
14 Probably Edith de Barton.
u The Halmote (from Heall, Anglo-Saxon hall, and gemote, meeting) was a court
for the assemblage of the tenants of one hall or manor ; the lord's court, in which
differences between the tenants were determined. It must not be confounded with
Halymote, a holy or ecclesiastical court of the oldeu time. It was for the out dis-
tricts of tbe manor what the court baron was for the town and entire manor. The
Tarious items of issues in Barton, just make the total sum in the text.
16 Cuerdley is a township in the parish of Frescot and hundred of West Derby,
four miles west from Warrington.
*7 Pasture (partura) is generally any place where cattle may feed ; and feeding for
cattle is called pasture, wherefore feeding grounds are called common of pasture. But
common of pasture is properly a right of putting beasts to pasture in another man's
soil. (Wood's Inst. pp. 196, 197). For in those waste grounds which are usually
called " common?," the property of the soil is generally in the lord of the manor ;
as in common fields it is in the particular tenants. Pastura differs from pascua / for
partura signifies all kinds of feeding, whether in meadows, in stubble, in fields, or in
plains ; but pascua is the place principally set aside for the feeding of cattle, whether
on hills, moors, marshes, or on plains not tilled by the plough.
150 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XI.
The pannage and the wind-fall wood [mortuus boscus] are worth
yearly xnj g iiij d .
There is there a certain free tenant, who holds xij acres of land, and
two acres of meadow and wood, by one clove. 18
And of the rent of the bondagers yearly lviij" x d .
And of the rent of the cottagers iij g iiij d . 19
And of [the rent of] two mills, one a wind-mill and the other a
water-mill, which are worth yearly xx'.
The pleas and perquisites of the Hallemote iiij".
The sum [or total] xj u xij - . 20 This manor is held of the lord Edmund
[surnamed Crouchback, earl of Lancaster] and yields ij u to him ; but
makes one suit to the county of Lancaster and one suit to the wapen-
take of Derby, and is of the constable- wick of Chester.
Geoffrey de Chathirton holds by inheritance of Robert Gresle one
oxgang of land in Fox-den-ton by a penny at the nativity [of the Lord],
and it is of the fee of the earl of Lincoln. 21
18 A clove (Caryophylum, French Qirofle) is another of the nominal renders (next
in value to the pepper-corn) for possessions originally granted of grace, favour, or
affection. The orthography of the Latin form varies greatly in old grants and char-
ters, where it generally has G- for its first letter, instead of 0. Thus Gaiyophilum,
Gariqfilum, Gariofolium, Gariqfolum, &c„ and occasionally we meet (as in the text)
with GariofiU clavus, or a clove of clove.
19 For cottages, and the mode of valuing them, see chap. x. sec io, ante.
90 Leaving out of the consideration the clove paid or rendered for fourteen acres
of land, the sum of the items of the issues of Keuerdley or Ouerdley, does 'not agree
with the total in the text. Instead of i il. 12s., they only amount to $1. 13*. ; and it
is possible that the transcriber has written xj for ix, and xij for xiij, which would
remove the discrepancy.
31 For Geoffrey de Chaderton, see note 8 1, p. 141, ante. Oxgang or bovate (from ox
bos, and gang, or gate, iter) usually denotes fifteen acres of land, or as much as one
ox can plough in a year j Skene says thirteen acres. Other records vary from eight
to twenty-four acres. A penny a year is another of the nominal rents which mark
what are more like gifts than grants for service. This earl of Lincoln was Henry de
Lacy, grandson of John and son of Edmund de Lacy, fifth and sixth earls. He
succeeded in 1257; and having married Margaret, daughter and co-heir of William
de Longespee (commonly called countess of Salisbury, though her father's claim to
the earldom was never allowed), he also bore the title of earl of Salisbury jure
uxoris. He died in 131 2 s. p. m. Alice, bis daughter and heir, married — first,
Thomas Flantagenet, earl of Lancaster, who is said to have been earl of Lincoln in
her right. After his death (in 1322), she married, secondly, Eubold le Strange, who
Chap. XL] INQUISITIONS* a.d. 1282. 151
FOKEST OF HOPEWOKTHE. 23
There are there eight vaccaries [cow-gates or pastures] 23 and one plot
which is not a full vaccary, and they are worth yearly xix u .
The pannage of the same forest, 24 with the aery of sparrow-hawks, are
worth yearly xl\
There are there three foresters, who keep the forest and have escapia®
and give yearly lx'. The sum of the forest is xxiiij 11 .
The sum total of the extent [or survey] of the aforesaid manor with
its members, as it appears below, and with the forests, is Cxxxj u vij g viij d
farthing. From which there ought to be subtracted for the farm due
died 9. p. ; and thirdly, Hugh le Fresnes. This Alice styled herself countess of Lin-
coln and Salisbury, and died in 1 348, s. p.
a From the text and context, and from various other facts, it is certain that what
is here (possibly by a scribe's error) called the forest of Hopetoorth, is in reality that
of Horewych ; which was sixteen miles in circumference, and the issues of which pro-
duced yearly to the lord of the manor 24/.
° Yaccary in one sense is a house or place to keep cows in ; but here it means a
cow-gate, walk or pasture for a cow. — (Fleta.) For a list of eight vaccaries in
Horewych with their names, &c., see vol. ii. chap. xvi. the extent of 1322, under the
head " Pasture." In Lancashire iu more modern times the word " booth" came into
use, in place of yaccary.
94 The pannage of the forest of Horewych and the aery of hawks, appear to have
been the only issues valued in 1282. Thirty-eight and forty years afterwards we find
the vesture of oaks, the wild honey, and the wood ashes grown or produced in the
forest, the subject of careful valuation to the lord's profits. For the valuing of
forest pannage and aeries of birds, see chap. x. seoc. iv. v. and vi. ante.
76 In one of the forest statutes the mode of a forester's walking and watching in
the forest is strictly prescribed : " That the foresters rising early and going into their
bailiwick, shall there do their accustomed duty until the ninth hour [horam nonam,
P the hour of noon, or of three p.m., the nones or nona of the canonical hours], and
then go to dinner ; and quickly after dinner returning into their bailiwick, namely
into those parts where they had not been before dinner, there go, listening and lying
in wait [audientes et insidiantes], that no one does ill there, until evening [vesperum,
Le. canonically from about four to seven o'clock, p.m.]. And so he shall do every
day." — Escapia> or Escapes. If any man's beasts be found within forbidden lands,
or in the fence [or fawning] time within the forest, every owner of such beasts shall
be amerced, for every foot one penny. For a second offence, the like amerciament.
For a third the beasts shall be forfeited to the lord of the forest. These are called
escapes, and he that is " quietus do escapio" is clearly discharged of the same. —
(MonwoocFs Forest Laws, chap. 25.)
152 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. XI.
to the lord Edmund, of ancient custom vj» and xvj* ; and bo there re-
mains clear Cixiiij" xj' viij d farthing. 28
And it is known that the manors of Mamecestre, Heton {JSTorris] and
Barton are held of the lord Edmund of the honour of Lancaster hy
service ; doing suit to the county of Lancaster and to the wapentake of
Salford. Nothing was held by the same Bobert on the day on which
he died, of the lord the king in chief, in the aforesaid manors.
Thomas, son of the aforesaid Kobert, is his next heir, and will be of
the age of three years at the Feast of St. Lawrence 87 next coming.
And the same Bobert closed his last day on the 15th day of February.*
KNIGHTS' FEES.
John de Birun 29 holds Wityng-ton, for the term of his life, for one
knight's fee and does suit at the court baron of Matnecestre, from three
weeks to three weeks. 80
* The net income from the whole of the manor of Mamecestre with its forests, in
1282, was just 124J. 8*. 1 1 ±4. which, multiplied by fifteen, would give its equivalent
in our present money, 1866/. 14s. \d. The two suma payable to Edmund earl of
Lancaster were probably 6/. for sak-fee and 16*. for castleward. In an extract from
the rent-roll of this earl, rather later (printed as a note on a subsequent page of
this chapter), the sake-fee for the land of John de la Warre is stated to be 4I. 3*. 64.
* It is difficult to fix this birth-day, there being no fewer than four saints in the
calendar bearing the name of Lawrence, viz. : First, archbishop of Canterbury and
confessor, February 2. Second, archbishop of Dublin, November 14. Third, deacon
and martyr (on the gridiron), August 10 ; and, fourthly, Lawrence Justinian, bishop
of Venice, September 5. The most distinguished of the four is number 3 ; but
number one is the most local and English. We incline, however, to the martyr,
which would give August 10 as Thomas Greslet's birth-day.
9 We translate literally " diem clausit extremum." February 15, 1282, the day of
Bobert Greslet's death, was the first Sunday in Lent.
* John de Birun (Byron) son of Bobert de Byron, lord of Clayton, and Maud his
wife, married Joan, daughter of Sir Baldwin de Tyas or Tines (t. e. Teutonicus,
German), and widow of Sir Bobert Holland, secretary to Thomas, earl of Lancaster.
This John de Birun had extensive possessions in Rochdale with his wife, by the
gift of ber father; who was conservator of the peace in Lancashire in 10 Edward I.
(1282). John de Birun is named as lord of Clayton, in 28 Edward L (1300) ; and
as his son Sir John, who witnessed the Mamecestre charter in 1301, was then lord
of Clayton, the eider John must have died in or before that year. (See note 79,
p. 140.)
30 The court baron (Curia Baronti) incident to all manors, was a court which
XU
INQUISITIONS, ajj. 1282.
153
Robert de Latlumi, Adam de IIetoii T William le Botiller, Balph de
L and Gteofflreg dfl Writ hint on/ 11 hold Per-bald, Dttl-ton and
fan, for i>ne knight's fee. And Thomas de Aston does suit at
Uh ecmrt for the tame holding [or tenants].
The aame Robert [de Lathom] holds 1 nil and her Tor-ton, for
fourth part of one blight's fee.
?ery lord of the manor had within bis precinct, must be held by prescription, and on
t of the manor, and was of two natures. First by common law, whirl l is
iron's or freeholders' court," of which the freeholders being the suitors are
dso tl and this cannot be a court baron without two suitors at least.
cond by custom, which is called "the customary court;'* and concerns the custo-
mary tenants and copyholders, whereof the lord or his steward is judge. The court
baron may be of this double nature — [as was that of Mamecestre] — or may be ono
without the other ; but as there can bo no court baron at common law without free-
holders, so there cannot be a customary court without copyholders or customary
tenants. — (4 Sep. 26 j 6 Sep. 11, 12 j 2 last, 119.) The freeholders' court boron,
which hath jurisdiction for trying actions of debt, trespasses, &c., under 40*., may be
had every three week*, and is something like a county court, and the proceedings
much the same. The other court baron, for taking and passing of estates, surrenders,
admittances, &o., is held but once or twice in the year, usually with the court leel,
which is within a month after Easter, und within n month after Michaelmas. In this
ourt baron the homage-jury are to inquire that their lords do not lose then: services,
duties or custom; but that the tenants make their suits of court, pay their rents and
*iots, <fec., and keep their lands and tenements in repair ; thoy are to present ull
ommon and private nuisances which may prejudice the lord's manor; and every
public trespass must be punished in this court, by amercement, on presenting the
same. By statute [^Extenta Mancrii, 4 Edward I.] it shall bo inquired of customary
tenants whnl they hold, by what works, rents, heriots, services, &c. And of the
d'a woods and other profits, fishing, ic. (See chap. 2. secc. ix. xi. and xiii.)
ai For Robert do Lathura see note 50 p. 72 ante. In 1322 a Robert do Lathum
held parts of fees in Ohiidwall, Wrightington and Brocholes. Adam de Heton we
cannot trace. William le Botiller was the son of Henry and his wife Sib ilia. Ho
also married a Sibilla, and was lord of Warrington in 1297-8. The three township*
held for one knight's fee by Eve persons were in diilerent hundreds ; Parbold being
in the parish of Eccleston and hundred of Leyland, four miles west from Standisfa ;
Wrightington is an adjoining township in the same parish and hundred ; whilst
Balton is in the parish of Wigan (five miles N.K.W. of it) and in the hundred of
West Derby, In the time ol John la Warre ninth baron of M&mecestre (the first of
his family) it is stated that he and Sir William Boteler knight and their tenants held
ne and one-third and ono twenty- fourth knights* fees in thirty-one townships,
nongst which are u Balton in Derby, Parbold and Wrightington in Leylandshirc."
y held of the honour of Tutbury, which was held of the honour of Lancaster,
154 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XI.
The same Bobert holds Ohilde-wall for the moiety of one knight's fee,
and does suit from court to court.
William de Worthington holds Worthvng-ton for the half of one
knight's fee, and does suit from court to court.® 2
William, son of William de Anderton, and Almeria his wife, hold
Rome-worth for the third part of one knight's fee, and do suit from
court to court. 83
Alexander de Pilkynton holds Pilkyn-ton for the fourth part of one
knight's fee, and does suit. 84
The manor of Barton with the members, is held for one knight's fee,
and is in the hand of the lord. 85
He-ton is held for [or as] the fourth part of one knight's fee, and is in
the hand of the lord. The sum [or total] of the fees [is left blank.] 86
ADVOWSONS OP CHURCHES.
There are in the same [barony] three churches, which belong to the
gift of the lord, namely the church of Mame-cestre CC. M. [two hundred
marks, or 133/. 6s. 8d.] Childe-welle,* 7 which is worth CC. marks, and
Ays-ton [Ashton-under-Igne] xx marks [13?. 6s. 8d.]
w This or another William de Worthington held Worthington for half a knight's
fee in 1322. (See chap. tv'i. post.)
33 In 1322 Richard de Hulton held one-third of a knight's fee in Rumworth and
Lestoc.
84 This Alexander (son of Alexander temp. King John) was lord of Pilkington in
the 7 Edward I. (1278-9). His eldest son was Roger, who had free warren in 1291.
(See note 32 p. 79.)
35 The manor of Barton was a member of the barony of Mamecestre, and in 1282
was not granted to any sub-feudatory, but was held by Robert de Greslet, seventh
baron, in his own hand, till his death : so that it was one of the possessions which
fell to the custody of Amadous de Sayoy during the long minority of Thomas, eighth
baroD.
M This Heton is Heaton Norris, and it was in 1282 held by the baron of Mame-
cestre himself.
87 It does not appear why the church advowsons of Mamecestre and Childwall
should be worth each 133?. 6>. %d, and that of Ashton-under-Lyne less by 100 J. than
either. The total value of the three advowsons was four hundred and twenty marks
or 250/., which multiplied fifteen-fold giyes as the equivalent in our present money
3>75o*.
Chap, XL]
INQUISITIONS, a.d. 1282.
155
WRIT TO THE SHERIFF.
WE HAVE INSPECTED moreover another writ of the same
progenitor of ours, to his sheriff of Lancashire directed, and into the
same ftha&csry returned, In these words: —
EDWARD &e, king of England &e to the sheriff of Lancashire
greeting. Inasmuch as Robert Grelle, who held of us in chief, is
deceased [ u in diem elausum extremum"] that we may receive thein we
command thee, that all lands and tenements of which the same Robert
was seised in [Ins] demesne as of fee t in thy bailiwick, on the day on
which he died, without delay you take into our hand, and make safe
keeping thereof, until we eh all therein further command you. And,
by the oaths of honest and lawful men of thy county, by whom the
truth of the matter may be better known, do thou diligently inquire
how much land the same Robert held of us, in chief, in thy bailiwick,
on the day on which he died, and how much of others, and by what
service, and how much his land was worth by the year, in aE issues,
and who his next heir may be, and what his age. And tins inquisi-
tion, thus distinctly and openly made to us, under your seal, and the
seals of those by whom it may be made, without delay is to be penft to
us, with this writ. Witness me, myself, at Diuises [Devizes] on the
ifjth day of April, in the 10th yea* of our reign, [1282.]
We have Inspected, in like manner, a certain Extent [or Survey
and Valuation] before the aforesaid sheriff, by virtue of the said writ
made, and into the same chancery in like manner returned, in these
words : —
THE SHERIFF'S EXTENT.
EXTENT taken at dre, before Henry de Lee, sheriff of
Lancashire, by precept of the lord the king, on the Sun-day next after
the feast i>f the Apostlai Philip and James. [Rogation Sunday, Way,
3, 1282] in the iofch year of Edward [I.] by —
John Biron
Geoffrey de Braccbrig T
Geoffrey de Chederton
Adam de Hultoii
Alex, de Pilkyngton
Thomas de Aston
7* Robert de Shores word
8. Elis de Leurc
9* Richard de Radeeiif
10. Robert Vnton
tii Adam de Conteclif
12. Adam son of John de
Lime.*
156 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XI.
jurors : who say upon their oaths that in the aforesaid manor at Mame-
cestre is a certain capital messuage, 89 with certain houses and certain
gardens, the fruit of which and the herbage are worth yearly ij\
And there is there a certain little park which is called Ald-p'c, the
herbage of which, with the pannage, is worth yearly xxxiij" iiij d .
And there is there a certain other park called Blake-lee, the herbage
of which, the wind-fall wood and pannage, and an aery of sparrow-
hawks [sparvarum] are worth yearly vj u xiij" iiij d .
And there is there a certain plot of demesne lands and herbage, which
are called Brade-ford and Bron-hull, and are worth yearly xl\
And there is there a certain plot which is called Oven-law-mo' of the
aforesaid demesnes, and worth yearly lxxvj' viij d .
And a certain plot near the cross of Opin-shale, which is worth
yearly vj' viij d .
And a certain plot which is called le Hulles, which is worth by the
year xiij* iiij d .
And a certain plot which is called Keper-feld, and worth yearly iiij\
And there are there two plots which are called MiUward-croft and
Sam-land [t'ra Sam'], which are worth yearly ix'.
And there is there certain land which is called Kyp'-clif, and worth
iij' iij d .
And there are there two parts of one oxgang of land in Den-ton, and
they are worth yearly iiij" ij d . And there is there a certain plot mfforn-
ward \Farn-wortK] and it pays yearly v\
And there is there one water-mill, and worth yearly xvij u vj' viij d .
And a certain fulling-mill, which is worth yearly xxvj" viij d .
And there is there a certain oven, which pays yearly x g .
And there is there rent of assise of the burgages in Mameccstre,
which pay yearly, at the Nativity of the Lord, at the Annunciation of
88 {Page 155.) This is very nearly the same jury as that of the escheator sitting
ten days previously. The only difference appears to be that the fourth juror of the
escheator was David — of the sheriff, Adam — de Hulton. This may, however, be an
error of some transcriber. Compare the variations in the personal (which are also
local) names of the two juries. Sorisworthe of the one is Shoresword of the other.
39 This capital messuage is doubtless the manor-house of Mamecestre, the baron's
hall or yard, on the baron's hull or hill, now Chetham's Hospital, School and Library.
For the valuing of the castle or manor-house, or other buildings in a manor, see
cap. x. sec. 1 .
Chap. XI.] INQUISITIONS, a.d. 1282. 157
the Blessed Mary, at the Nativity of St. John Baptist, and at the Feast
of St. Michael, vij u iij' ij d .
The toll of the market and fair of the same [manor], at the aforesaid
terms, vj u xiij' iiij d .
And of the rent of plough lands [arariorum] near the vill, xvij g vj d .
And of the rent of two oxgangs of land in bondage in Open-sal, at
the aforesaid terms viij\
And the rent of xvj oxgangs of land in bondage, in Ghr-ton, at the
aforesaid terms, lxiiij".
And of the farm of a certain plot of land in the same place, which
is called " Sail land" [t'ra aule] which pays yearly at the aforesaid
terms, xx § .
And of the farm of one mill in the same place xxvj' viij d .
And of x oxgangs of land in bondage in Ader-wyk, with ix acres of
land, at the same terms xliij'.
And of a certain plot of land which is called Twanfford, and at the
same terms vj* viij d .
And of the farm of ten oxgangs of land in Oormesale [OrumpsaW]
xl a at those terms.
And of the rent of certain assarted lands there, at the aforesaid
terms x g ij d .
And of the rents of the free tenants, foreign tenants of the manor of
Mamecestre, at those terms vij" ix' viij d .
And one gos-hawk [oustoriu'] of Thomas de Aston at the Feast of St.
Michael, and one barbed arrow of Adam de Leu'.
And of the rent of Sakefe at the said terms xlixv
And of the farm of ward, at the Feast of the Nativity of St. John
Baptist, xlix' ij d farthing.
And of the farm of the Five Foot Bailiffs, for having their bailiwicks,
at the aforesaid terms yearly C".
And of the perquisites of the court of the borough of Mamecestre
yearly viij\
And of the pleas and perquisites of the court baron, C\
And there is there a certain fee of Within-ton which owes yearly a
certain day's ploughing of xv acres of land, which is worth yearly
vij' vj d .
And a certain custom of the same fee to reap in autumn, belonging to
xxx oxgangs of land, which is worth yearly ij* vj d .
158 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. XL
The sum total of the extent of the manor of Mamecestre iiij iiij*
xij' v d farthing [84Z. 12*. 5* d.]
HETON NOEEATS.
There are there in the demesne xl acres of arable land, with a capital
messuage and garden, which are worth yearly xx'.
And a certain plot in the said demesne which is called Mil-riding and
le Sperte, and are worth yearly xx' at those terms.
And a certain mill, of which two parts pay yearly at the aforesaid
terms xiij* iiij d .
And of the farm of the free tenants at the aforesaid terms yearly
iij» x d halfpenny.
And of the farm of eight oxgangs of land, in bondage, at the afore-
said terms, xx a .
And of the rent of xxiiij (?) hens [galUni] of the said bondagers at
Christmas [Natale] ij\
And of the rent of eight score eggs of the same bondagers at
Easter iiij d .
And pannage of the wood, worth yearly vi" viij d .
And there are there two meadows, worth yearly at the said terms ij».
And there are there two pairs of gloves of Adam de Leu' yearly, at
the Feast of St. Michael [September 29.]
Sum total of this member of the manor of Mamecestre, iiij B vj' iiij 4
halfpenny.
BAETON.
There is there a certain garden, with a plot of meadow outside the
garden, with the fruit and herbage, worth yearly viij\
And xl acres of land of the demesne, which is worth yearly xxvj»
viij d .
And a certain fishery [or fishing] worth yearly xviij d .
And two parts [two-thirds] of the mills, which are worth yearly at
the aforesaid terms, xxx\ And a third part of these [mills] is in the
hands of a certain lady, in the name of dower.
And of certain land planted [or laid out, " t'ra posita"] at the said
terms xxxiiij' viij d .
The herbage of the wood, with the pannage, worth yearly ix r .
Of the assise rent of the free tenants xvij , xj d halfpenny.
Chap. XL]
INQUISITIONS, a.d. lit*.
1£9
And the perquisites of the HtiUemote yearly v\
The sum of this manor [Barton] vj" xvj' ix* halfpenny.
KEUDLE.
There is there a certain capital messuage, with a garden and two
plots outside the garden, winch are worth yearly vj* yiij d .
There are there six score [120] acres of arable land in the demeane,
which are worth yearly at the aforesaid terras iiij".
And xiij acres of meadow, which are worth yearly xxxiij" viij d ; thr
acre being worth ij' yj 4 .
And a certain pasture [past'a] which is called le Ward w with le
Wod-heyCy which are worth yearly iiij* iiij" 1 .
The pannage aud the wind-fall wood are worth yearly xiij 1 iiij*.
There is there a certain William win* is free tenant of xij acres of
land and ij acres of meadow and wood, by one clove yearly.
And of the rent of the bondage rs [" bonder' "] yearly at the aforesaid
terms, lviij' x J .
And of the rent of the cottagers yearly iij' iiij d .
And two mills, which pay yearly xx\
The pleas and perquisites of the Hallemote, iiij 1 .
The sum of this manor [Keuerd-ley], xj n xij*.
And it ts known that this manor is held of the lord Edmund, and ij"
is paid to him; but it nnikes one suit to the county of Lancaster, and
suit to the wapentake of Derby, and it is of the constablewick of
Geoffrey de Chaderton holds of inheritance of Eobert Grelle 41 one
oxgang of land in Fox* den-ton by one penny, at the Nativity of the Lord,
and it is of the fee of the earl of Lincoln.
FOKEST.* 3
There are t lie re \iij enw-pastures [or vacearies, u vaecaria 1 '] and one
plot which is not a full vaecary, which are worth yearly xix".
* The pasture here called le Ward with le Woodhey, is named in the other inqui-
sition Warche. This is not "the farm of Ward'* previously named in this extent.
4 * In November 1300 (Michaelmas, z8 and 29 Edward I.) in some plea, proof was
given of the age of the heir of Robert Grele (seventh baron) as to lands in cos,
Lincoln, Suffolk, Northampton and Lancaster, — {Abbrev. Plac. nt sup. rot. 44.)
* In Manwood'd Forest Laws we ore presented with the following curious rhymed
16Q MAMECESTRK [Chap. XI.
The pannage of the same [forest], with the aeries of sparrow-hawks
[" spuar' "] are worth yearly xl\
There are there three foresters, keeping the forest, who have
" escapia," and give yearly lx\
The sum of the forest xxiiij 11 .
KNIGHTS' FEES.
There are there v knights' fees, and half a fee, and the third part of
one fee, namely, —
John de Byron holds Withing-ton for term of life, for one knight's
fee, and does suit at the court baron of M amecestre from three weeks
to three weeks.
Eobert de Lathom holds [C]hocton : William le Botiller, Balph de
Catterall, Geoffrey de Writhington, hold Per-bald, Dal-ton, and Writhin-
ton for one knight's fee. And Thomas de Aston does suit at the court
for the same holding.
And the same Eobert holds Tur-ton and another Tur-ton for the fourth
part of one fee, and does suit.
The same Eobert holds Childe-wall for the half of one fee, and does
suit from court to court.
"William de Worthington holds the same place [Worthington] for
half of one knight's fee, and does suit from court to court.
William son of William de Anderton and Amery [Amaria] his wife
hold Berne-worth, for the third part of one fee, and do suit from court to
court.
" Oath of the inhabitants of the forest, being of the age of twelve years, as the
hath been accustomed and used of ancient time :" —
You shall true liegeman be
Unto the King's Majestie :
You shall no hurt do
The beasts of the forest unto ;
Nor anything unto,
That doth belong thereto :
The offences of others you shall not conceal,
But to the utmost you shall them reveal
Unto the Officers of the Forest,
Or to them that may see the same redrest.
All these things you shall see done,
So help you God at 's holy doom.
Chap. XI.] INQUI8ITI0NS, a.d. 1282. 161
Alexander de Pilkynton holds that place [Pilkyn-ton] for the fourth
part of one fee, and does suit.
The manor of Bar-ton with the members is held for one fee, and is in
the hand of the lord.
He-ton is held for the fourth part of one fee, and is in the hand of the
lord.
ADVOWSONS OF CHUECHES.
There are three churches, which belong to the gift of the lord;
namely, the church of Mame-cestre, which is worth yearly CC. marks
[133/. 6s. Sd.]
The church of Child-walle, which is worth yearly CC. marks.
And the church of As-ton, which is worth yearly xx marks. [13/.
6*. Sd.]
The sum total of the extent of the aforesaid manor [of Mamecestre],
with the members, as is shown herein below, and with the forests, is
Cxxxj" vij* viij d farthing. From which there ought to be deducted for
the farm due to the lord Edmund 43 of ancient custom, vi u xvj\ And
there will remain clear Cxxiiij 11 xj' viij d farthing.
And it is known that the manors of Mamecestre, Heton and Barton,
are held of the lord Edmund, of the honour of Lancaster, by the ser-
vice of doing suit to the county of Lancaster and to the wapentake of
Salford.
And the earl of Ferrars 4 * had the homage and service of the ancestors
of the said Eobert, of [or for] the aforesaid manors.
Nothing was held by the same Eobert on the day on which he died of
the lord the king in chief, in the aforesaid manors.
Thomas, son of the aforesaid Eobert, is his next heir, and will be of
48 The lord Edmund was Edmund Plantagenet (called " Edmund Orouchback")
second son of Henry III., who was created first earl of Lancaser, 30th June 1267.
He died in 1295.
44 It is doubtful whether there was an earl of Ferrers in 1282. Robert de Ferrers
earl of Derby, Nottingham, Ac., was dispossessed of his earldoms in 1265, and died
in 1278. His lands were conferred on Edward Plantagenet, afterwards earl of Lei-
cester and Lancaster. The first baron (by writ) Ferrers of Chartley was John, son
and heir of Robert eight and last (Ferrers) earl of Derby. John was summoned to
parliament from 6th February 27 Edward I. (1299) to 19th December 5 Edward II.
(131 1) and died in 1324. He might bear the title, however, in 1282.
Y
162 MAMECE8TBE; [Chap. XI.
the age of three years at the Feast of St. Lawrence [? August 10] next
coming.
And the same Bobert closed his last day [" diem clausit extremum"]
on the xvth February.
EXEMPLIFICATION.
Now the tenor of the aforesaid writs and inquisitions, at the require-
ment of Ealph Prestwych, Esq., 45 we have caused to be exemplified
by these presents. In testimony of which matter, these our letters
we have caused to be made patent. Witness me, myself, at West-
minster, the 29th day of May, in the fifth year of our reign [1513 ?]
(Signed) Smyth.
Examined by
John Frank \
and L Clerks.
Thomas Smyth,)
(Endorsement.)
Inspeximus of An Inquisition shewing the extent of y e man' of
Manchester, taken temp. Edward j.
(Another.)
1st Inq. taken before Thomas de Normanville, escheator, ultr* trent.
2nd by the sheriff of Lancashire, Henry de Lee 10th y r Edward I.
[1282], both taken 10 Edward j. at the death of Bobert Grelle, who
found Tho: his heir.
(Another, modern.)
29 May, 5 Henry the 8th (?) [1513.]
To present the results of these two inquiries at one view, pre-
serving the terms of both records, they have been cast into the
* Ralph Prestwych Esq. was the son and joint heir of Ellis Prestwyche, — (who
bequeathed the manor of Holme or Hulme to four trustees to the use of his will
(10th April 1473) — and of Isabella his wife, daughter of Thurstan Tyldesley. This
Ealph married Elizabeth , and on the 4th May 1538 granted messuages and lands
to Thomas Beck, Thomas Bolton and Bobert Prestwyche, chaplain, in Holme,
Wythenshaw, Manchester, Salford, Crompton and Crumpsall. It does not appear
why he was a principal agent in obtaining the exemplification of these old inquisi-
tions ; but perhaps they had a bearing on some question of disputed title in his day.
Chap. XL]
INQUISITI0N8, a.d. 1282.
163
form of a modern rental, inventory, or account, the Roman
numerals changed into the simpler Arabic figures, and as both
documents agree precisely in every money item throughout the
returns, those items are placed in columns between the two
descriptions, as common to both: —
Escheator, Saturday, April 25, Sheriff, Sunday, May 3,
1282. £. #. d. 1282.
Herbage and fruit-gardens in manor Capital messuage, houses and gar-
of Mamecestre 020 dens, fruit and herbage.
Aldepark and Litheak herbage and
pannage 1 13 4 Aldparo, herbage and panuage.
Blakele park, herbage, wind-fallen Blakelee park, herbage, wind-fallen
wood, pannage and aery of hawks 6 13 4 wood, pannage and ae*ry of hawks.
Demesne and herbage, Bradford and Demesne and herbage, Bradeford
Brunhull 200 and Bronhull.
Grenlawemore, demesne 3 16 8 Grenlawmore, demesne.
A plot near the Cross of Opinshawe 068 Plot near the Cross of Opinahale.
Ditto Le Hules o 13 4 Le Hulles.
Ditto Kepirfeld, demesne o 4 o Keperfeld.
Ditto Milnwardecroft and Samland.. 090 Two plots, Milnewarde Croft and
Samland.
Ditto Xipirclif ° 3 3 Kyperclif.
Two parts of an oxgang in Denton
(yearly) 042 Two parts of an oxgang in Denton.
Plot in Farn worth 050 Plot in Fornworde.
Water-mill there 17 6 8 Water-mill there.
Fulling-mill 168 Fulling-mill.
Oven o 10 o Oven.
Assise rent of Mamecestre burgages Assise rent of Mamecestre burgages
(yearly) 7 3 2 (yearly).
Tolls of Mamecestre market and fairs 613 4 Toll of Mamecestre market and fairs.
Cottagers' rents (? yearly) o 17 6 Bent of cottagers near the Till.
Bent of two oxgangs in Opin- Bent of two oxgangs of bondage in
schawe 080 Opensal.
Bent of sixteen oxgangs in bondage Bent of sixteen oxgangs of bondage
in Gorton 340 in Gorton.
Hall land, in Gorton (yearly) 100 Hall land, in Gorton.
Mill there, farm 1 6 8 Mill there, farm.
Ten oxgangs and nine acres in Ather- Ten oxgangs and nine acres in Ader-
iswyke, bondage 230 wyk.
Twantirford there (yearly) 068 Twant'ford (yearly).
Ten oxgangs in Curmisale, bondage... 200 Ten oxgangs in Cormesale.
164
MAMECESTRE.
[Chap. XI.
Hscheator, Saturday, April 25,
1282. £ #.
Assarted lands there (B) 010
Bent of free and foreign tenants,
Mameoestre 7 9
One soar goshawk, Thomas de Eston o o
One barbed arrow, Adam de Levyr... o o
Bent of sak-fee 2 9
Farm of warde 2 9
Farm of the five Foot Bailiffs 5 o
Perquisites of court of borough of
Mameoestre o 8
Fleas and perquisites of the court
baron 5 o
Fee in Wythinton, ploughing of
fifteen acres o 7
Ditto, reaping of thirty oxgangs o 2
Sum of manor of Mameoestre... £84 12
fe.
Sheriff, Sunday, May 3,
1282.
Assarted lands there (B).
Bent of free and foreign tenants.
One oustoriu', Thomas de Aston.
One barbed arrow, Adam de Lever.
Bent of sak-fee.
Farm of warde.
Farm of the five Foot Bailiffs.
Perquisites of borough court of
Mameoestre.
Pleas and perquisites of the court
baron.
Fee of Withinton, ploughing of
fifteen acres.
Ditto, reaping of thirty oxgangs.
6± Sum of manor of Mameoestre.
Heton Norrays. — Forty acres of de- Eeton Norrays. — Forty acres ara-
xnesne, capital messuage and gar- ble, with capital messuage and
den 100 garden.
Plot called le Milne-ridying and Le
Sporthe 100 Mil-riding and le Spert.
A mill, two parts yield o 13 4 A mill, two parts yield.
Farm of free tenants o 3 iofc Farm of free tenants.
Ditto of eight oxgangs in bondage... 1 o o Ditto of eight oxgangs in bondage.
Bent of twenty-four hens, (?) at St.
John Baptist 020 Bent of twenty-four hens.
Bent of eight score [160] eggs at
Easter 004 Bent of eight score eggs.
Pannage of the wood 068 Pannage of the wood.
Two pair of gloves, Adam de Lever
(yearly) 000 Two pair of gloves, Adam de Lerer.
Total of this manor, member of
Mameoestre £4 6 4} Total this member of Mameoestre.
Barton. — Garden and meadow, fruit Barton. — Garden and meadow, fruit
and herbage 080 and herbage.
Forty acres demesne 1 6 8 Forty acres demesne.
Fishery o 1 6 Fishery.
Chap. XI.] INQUISITIONS, ajd. 128a. 165
Eecheator, Saturday, April 25, Sheriff, Sunday, May 3,
1282. £ s. d. 1282.
Two parts of the mills 1 10 o Two parts of the mills.
Third part in hand of a lady, in name Third part in hand of a lady, as
of dower 000 dower.
Land planted or laid out 1 18 8 Land planted or laid out.
Herbage and pannage of the wood ... 090 Herbage and pannage of the wood.
Bent of assise of free tenants o 17 11} Assise rent of free tenants.
Perquisites of Hallemote 050 Perquisites of Hallemote.
Total of manor £6 16 9} Total this manor.
Keuerdeley. — Capital messuage, gar- Keurdeley. — Capital messuage, gar-
den, and two plots 068 den, and two plots.
One hundred and twenty acres arable One hundred and twenty acres
%d. per acre 400 arable.
Thirteen acres meadow 2*. 6d. per acre 113 6 Thirteen acres meadow.
Pasture called " Le Warche" and " le Pasture " le Warde" and the " Wod-
Wodeheye" o 13 4 heye."
Pannage and windfall wood 013 4 Pannage and windfall wood.
A free tenant, twelve acres land and One William, holds twelve acres
two acres meadow and wood, by land, two acres meadow and wood,
one clove 000 by one clove.
Bent of bondagen 2 18 10 Bent of bondagers.
Bent of cottagers or ploughed lands 034 Bent of cottagers.
Two mills (windmill and watermill).. 100 Two mills.
Pleas and perquisites of Hallemote... 040 Pleas and perquisites of the Halle-
mote.
Total of manor £11 12 o Sum of this manor.
Forest of Hopeworth. — Eight yao-
caries, and another 19 o o Forest of eight yac. and another.
Pannage and aery of hawks 2 o o Pannage and aery of hawks.
Three foresters give 300 Three foresters give.
Sum of the forest £24 o o Sum of the forest.
Sum total of manor of Mamecestre
and its members, with the forests..i3i
Deduct farm due to the lord Ed-
mund 6
16
Sum total of manor of Mamecestre
8i and its members, with the forests.
Deduct farm due to the lord Ed-
o mund.
Bemains clear £124 11 8£ Remains clear.
166 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XI.
Escheator, Saturday, April 25, Sheriff, Sunday, May 3,
1282. £ #. d. 1282.
Advowsons. — Mamecestre two hun- Advowsons. — Mamecestre two hun-
dred marks 133 6 8 dred marks.
Childewelle two hun- Childewall two hun-
dred marks 133 6 8 dred marks.
Ayston ( Ashton-under- Aston(Ashton-under-
Lyne) twenty marks. 13 6 8 Lyne) twenty marka.
£270 10 o
Adding together the nett issues of the manor and forest, with
those of its mesne manors, and also the advowsons of the three
churches, we have the yearly sum of 395/. 1*. 8£tf., which, multi-
plied by fifteen, gives as the equivalent amount in our present
money (5,926/. 58. l\d.) nearly 6,000/. a year, showing a very
extensive estate, and a large revenue for the lord of the manor of
Mamecestre, in the year 1282.
We have not yet done with royal writs and sheriff's inquiries
relative to the death, the possessions, and the heir of Robert
Greslet. Besides the writ to the escheator of 12th March, an-
swered by the inquisition of the 25th April, and the writ to the
sheriff of the 15th April, answered by the extent of the 3rd May,
there was a third writ issued, this time to the sheriff, on the 24th
May, answered by an extent on the 12th September, — all these
dates being in the same year, 1282. Among the public records in
the custody of the master of the rolls (pursuant to the statute of
the 1 and 2 Vict. cap. 94) formerly preserved in the Tower of
London, but now in the Office of Public Records, are copies of a
writ and an inquisition (10 Edward I. [1282] No. 20), of which
the following transcripts have been officially made, for the purposes
of this work : —
[BREVE. 24 Maij, 1282.]
EDWARD Dei gra Rex Angt Dns Hifen et Dux Aqui? Vic
Lane Sal? Quia cciorari voluin* sup \? sacru] vero valore feodo*
milit et advocacionu ecclia^ ptinenciu ad Maflium de Mamecestr
Chap. XL] INQUISITIONS, a.d. 1282. 167
quod fuit Robti Grelle defuncti qui de nob tenuit in capite tibi
pcipim^ qd p sacrm pbo^ et leg hominu de Com tuo p quos rei
Veritas melius sciri potit j>dca feoda et advocacoes diligen? extendi
fac qhtum vidett valeant p annu ut in diiicis Sviciis et in omib}
aliis exitib). Et extetam illam inde disticte et apte fcam nob
sub sigillo tuo et sigitt eo^ p quos fca fuit sine ditoe mittas et hoc
fere. T. me ipo apd Hertlebur xxiiij die Maij anno r. fi decio.
[EXTENTA. 12 Sept. 1282.]
Extenta fca apd Mamecestr coram Hnr de Lee Vic Lane die
Sabbi px an fin Exaltacois See Crucis anno r R. Edw* x° de vero
valore feodo^ militu et advocacom eccia^ que tenebant* de Robo
Grelle in Mafiio Mamecestr p Hnr de T"fFord David de Hulton
Alex de Filkington Ric de Radeclif Elis de Leure Ric fit Dd Ric
f Joh Ric de Workedele Thorn de Aston Robtm de Shoresword
Robm Untoun et John de Rilandes qui dnt p sc°m suu qd villa de
Wythington cu feodo suo tenet r p j feodo militis et valet p annu
de claro ut in diiicis Sviciis et omib) exitib) xxx H . Et qd villa de
Pilkington cu ptinciis tenet r p qrta pte urn* feodi et valet p annu
de claro x u . Et qd Worthington Copphui cu ptinc tenet' p di feod
unF mili? et valet p annu de claro C. 3. Et qd Childwatt tenet 1 p
uno feodo mili? et valet p annu de claro x M a rc. Et qd dns Jobs
de Kirkeby tenet duo feoda railit et valent p annu dco dno Johi j
d qr feofavit alios inde p j den p annu tenend. Et dnt qd Eccia
Mamec cuj^ advoco ptinet ad Mafiium Mamec valet p annu CC.
mrc. Et eccia de Childwalle cuj^ advocaco similr ptinet ad $dcm
MaSu valet p annu CC. mrc. Et eccia de Aston cup advoco
similr ptinet ad MaSiu Mam valet p anii xx 11 .
(In dorso:) Dno Reg Angl vt ejus Cancllar p Vic Lane.
THE WRIT OF 2 4 th MAY 1282.
EDWARD, by the grace of God king of England, lord of Ireland,
and duke of Aquitaine, to the sheriff of Lancashire greeting. 46 Because
168 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. XI.
we will have it certified upon [oath] the true value of the knights' fees
and the advowsons of churches, appertaining to the manor of Mame-
cestre which belonged to Eobert G-relle, deceased, who held of us in
chief, we command thee that, by the oaths of good and lawful men of
thy county, by whom the truth of the matter may be better known, the
aforesaid fees and advowsons thou shalt cause to be diligently extended,
so far namely as [to show what] they are worth yearly, as in demesnes,
services, and in all other issues. And this extent, thus distinctly and
openly made, to us, under thy seal and the seals of those by whom it
shall be made, without delay thou shalt send, and also this writ.
Witness me myself at Hartlebury, 47 the 24th day of May, in the tenth
year of our reign [1282].
EXTENT OF 13TH SEPTEMBER 1282.
EXTENT made at Mamecestre before Henry de Lee, sheriff of Lan-
cashire, on the Saturday next before the feast of the Exaltation of the
Holy Cross 48 in the tenth year of the reign of King Edward [I.], of the
true value of the knights' fees and the advowsons of churches which
were held of Eobert Grelle in the manor of Mamecestre : By 49
1. Henry de Trafford 7. Eichard son of John
2. David de Hulton 8. Eichard de Workedele
3. Alex, de Pilkington 9. Thomas de Aston
4. Eichard de Eadcliffe 10. Eobert de Shoresworde
5. Ellis de Levre 11. Eobert Untoune
6. Eichard son of David 12. John de Eilandes
46 (Page 167.) The sheriff was still Henry de Lee or Lea, for a notice of whom
see note 78, p. 188 ante.
47 Hartlebury is about two miles from Stourport, co. Worcester.
48 The Exaltation of the Holy Gross is a fixed feast on the 14th of September,
which in the year 128a (old style) fell on a Sunday, and the Saturday before it would
consequently be the 13th September.
49 Of the jurors, David de Hulton had served on the escheator's inquisition, but
not on the sheriff's of May 3 ; and the following jurors of September had also
served in the two former inquisitions of April and May : — Alexander de Pilkington,
Richard de Eadcliffe, Ellis de Lever, Thomas de Ashton [or Eston], Robert do
Shoresworth and Robert Unton. Of the new jurors, Henry de Trafford was the Sir
Henry who died about 1288, or his eldest son, who succeeded him in 1289 or 1290,
who died in 1334. Richard son of David, and Richard son of John, can only be
2hap. XL]
INQUISITIONS, a.d. 118*.
169
my by their oaths that —
KNIGHTS' FEES.
mm: m\\ — The vill of AVythington with its fee il held for one
knight's fee, and m of the cLear \ early value, m in demesnes, services
and all issues, of jof, (Comp. p. 160 ante) And thai —
P I l k i x o to N . — Tli e vill of Pi 1 k i n gt on w it h its ap purtenances i a hel d
for the fourth part of one fee, and is of the clear yearly value of lol.
Pinp. p. 161 ante.) And that —
"Wohthixotow Coppuul. — Worthington Copphul with appur-
luces is held for half one knight's fee, and is of the clear yenrlv
» value of too shillings. (Comp, p. 160 ante) And that —
in low all. — Cliildwall is held for one knight's fee, and is of the
due often marks [61. 13*. 4J.]. (Comp, p. 160 ante.)
And that —
Sir John de Kyrkeby holds two knights' fees, and they are worth
rly to the said Sir John one penny farthing. w He hath infeoffed
the subjects of conjecture. Richard do Workedele or Woralcy was the sou of Ely a*
de Workcdley, a viil or hamlet of Barton, which was conveyed to Robert Greslet
seventh baron, id 1176, bj John son of Gilbert de Barton. John do Rilands we
cannot I race.
w Who was Sir John de Kyrkebj ? In this very year (raSi) persona holding lands
of the value of 30/. a year, were to be provided with arms against the Welsh, and
meantime a thousand men were ordered to be impressed in Lancashire. The king
was alio obliged to demand aid by way of loan from the religious houses, and from
all the merchants in the kingdom; and JoblO <1> kvrkeby was empowered to declare
certain difficult and important matters with which ho was entrusted — explanatory, no
doubt, of the king's necessities — to the people of Lancashire. Now as churchmen in
that day proved themselves the most astute statesmen and men of business, it is not
unlikely that the king, in a matter where the religious houses were to be worked upon
to give liberally, would employ a churchman. This John de Kirkeby, then, was pro-
bably the same who was in the church a canon of Wells and of York, while in the
service of the state he was the lord treasurer. And four years afterwards (in 1186)
his services to hia royal patron were rewarded by his elevation to the see of Ely, of
which he become the eleventh bishop. How be came to have two knights 1 fees in
Lancashire we cannot explain j but he may have been a Lancashire man, there being
Lby on the coast. The " Sir" prefixed to his name was used not only to distin-
guish the knight, but also the priest ; and there seems fair reason to presume that he
was the same ecclesiastic sent by the king in jj8j into Lancashire. In the chronicles
of a book called the Greater Liber Iforit, it is stated that in 1280 (14 Edward L)>
170 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. XI.
others afterwards, to be held yearly for one penny. And they [the
jurors] say that —
ADVOWSONS.
The Church of Mamecestre, of which the advowson belongs to the
manor of Mamecestre, is worth yearly 200 marks [133/. 6s. 8 J.] And
that —
The Church of Childwalle, of which the advowson in like manner
belongs to the aforesaid manor, is worth yearly 200 marks. And that —
The Church of Aston [i.e. Ashton-under-Lyne], of which the advow-
son in like manner appertains to the manor of Mamecestre, is worth by
the year 20I. (Comp. p. 161 ante.)
Endorsement.
To the lord the king of England, or to his chancellor. By the sheriff
of Lancashire.
What was the cause of these three different inquiries within six
months, as to the possessions of the deceased Robert Greslet?
First let us see what the writs required. That to the escheator
directs him to take and hold for the king all the lands and tene-
ments of which Greslet was seised as of fee, at his death ; and to
impannel a jury to inquire what land, &c, Greslet held of the
king in chief, and what of other chief lords, and by what service;
also the yearly value of all these lands and tenements, including
demesnes, rents, villenages, knights' fees, advowsons of churches,
the mayor, sheriffs, aldermen, and other dignitaries of London were summoned to
appear on the 29th June before John de Kirkeby, treasurer, and the other justiciers
of the king, in the Tower ; when the major resigned his mayoralty before entering
the Tower ; whereupon the said John de Kirkeby took the mayoralty and liberties of
London into the king's hand, because the city was found to be without a mayor. The
king then gave the citizens a warden in place of mayor. — (Liber Alb**). There was,
however, another John de Kirkeby, who was remembrancer of the exchequer in 19
Edward I. (1290-91), and who, with certain others, was appointed to receive petitions
to the parliament in 1305 (33 Edward I.), at the dissolution of which, he alone was
authorised to give briefs to the members to receive their wages in the several counties.
He died in the 1 Edward II. 1307. — (Fobs' s Judges of England, vol. iii. p. 111.)
Chap. XL] INQUISITIONS, ad. i 282. 171
and all other issues of land. Also who was Greslet's rightful
heir, and what his age. The first writ to the siierift (15th April)
is for the most part in very similar terms to that directed to
the escheator; save that it does not enumerate the various kinds
of issues from the lands ; nor does it include any inquiry as to the
heir. The returns to both these writs were, as we have seen, —
and as was most likely to be the case when both inquiries were
made before the same jury, — almost precisely identical, and cer-
tainly agreed exactly in all the items and in the sum total of the
money values. The third writ of the year, the second writ to the
sheriff (May 24) was issued only three weeks after the sheriff's
return to the April writ; and its inquiry is more limited. It
directs the sheriff to summon a jury to inquire as to the true value
of the knights fees and the advowsons of the churches, apper-
taining to the manor and belonging to the deceased Greslet ; and
to make an extent or valuation as to what was their yearly value,
as in demesnes, services, and in all other issues. Of the twelve
jurors impaunclled under this writ seven had served on one or
both the former inquiries. The value of the knight*s fee is not
given in either of the former inquisitions, and it may be stated
thus : —
Yearly Value.
Knt*. Fee. Where. £ #. d*
1 Withington, in demesne, Ac. ., 30 o o
o J Pilkington 10 o o
o\ Worthington Cophull 5 o o
r Childwall 613 4
a Held by Sir John de Kyrkeby ...... o o 1 }
4l £ 5* 13 Si
The jurors return the advowsons of the churches of Mamecestre
and Childwall at 133/. 6s, 8rf. each, as in both the former inquisi-
tions; but whereas those gave the value of the advowson of
Ash ton -under- Lyne as twenty marks, or 13/. 6s, %d. f this states it
distinctly as of the yearly value of 20/. The later inquisition.
172 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XI.
therefore reveals that in some way the sub-infeudation of Sir John
Kirkeby was held by him for two knights' fees, and apparently
sub-granted by him, at an amount purely nominal, though worth
yearly about 60/. Also that the value of the Ashton advowson
had been under-stated at 13/. 6*. 8tf., being really worth 20/. a
year. While, therefore, it is by no means clear why a writ of
inquiry to the sheriff should have been issued before the return
had been made to that directed to the escheator, — unless perhaps
it was supposed that there had been undue delay, or that the
sheriff was the proper officer to conduct the inquiry, — we can see
good reason for issuing the later writ to the sheriff, from its dis-
closing the values of the knights' fees, and showing that in one
case two fees, worth perhaps 60/., brought nothing to the chief
lord of the fee ; and also from the true value being ascertained of
an advowson which had been considerably under-estimated in
both the former inquiries. 51
51 As a document illustrating the rental of the same period, we take the following
extract from a rent-roll of Edmund, earl of Lancaster, in Salford town and hundred,
in the 10 Edward I. (1281-2) as set forth in the survey of Lonsdale in the 25 Ed-
ward I. (1297) preserved amongst the Earl. MSS. {Cod. 2085, fol. 528, b.) : —
" Extent of the lands of the earl in the wappentach of Launsdale, in 00. Lancashire,
' Z ') > * ,. 25 Edward I. (1297) at the death of Edmund earl of Lancaster [in Maya 290], in
the Tower, amongst other things, &c.
[Salford town, in the aforesaid account, by inquisition, 10 Edward I. 128 1-2.]
£ #. d.
Bent of assise of the town of Salford, with the rent of one
toft near the bridge 6 14 9
Farm of the water-mill there 300
Toll and stallage of the market and fair there 1 6 7J
Small plots [or places] there o 13 if
Pleas and perquisites of the court 020
Total £12 16 64
Salford Wappentach.—
Assise rent of Burghton 280
Assise rent of Ordesale 1 12 o
Assise rent of Cadeuelheued 040
Chap. XI.] INQUI8ITI0NS, aj>. 1282. 173
Assuming that at this period the town of Mamecestre was not
a free borough, or a borough at all, but simply a market town,
with certain privileges and liberties enjoyed from time imme-
morial, it would probably come within the regulations of the
watch and ward instituted about this time. The statute of Win-
chester of 8th October 1285 (13 Edward I. statute 2, cap. 4)
enacts that for the more surety of the country, the king hath
commanded that in great towns, being walled, the gates shall be
closed from the sun-setting until the sun-rising, and that no man
do lodge in the suburbs, nor in any place out of the town, from
nine of the clock [p.m.] until day, without his host will answer for
him.
£ 1. d-
Assise rent of Sc[h]oresworth 020
Assise rent of Tonge 040
Farm of the land of Aogostine de Barton 160
Farm of the land of William de Badcliffe o 17 8
Farm of the land of Roger de Midleton, in Chetham 013 4
Farm of the land of Alice de Prestwich, in Prestwich, Ho-
lonet [? Heton et], Sholesworth 1 6 8
Farm of the land of Roger Pilkington, in Borington o 10 o
Farm of the land of Geoffrey de Holme, in Holme 050
Farm of the land of Alice de Prestwich, in Penolbory o 10 o
Farm of the land of William Fitz Roger, in Radish 060
Farm of the land of Richard Pilkington, in Chorleton 1 o o
Farm of the land of Henry de Trafford 050
Farm of the land of Richard de Byrom 140
Farm of the land of Hogh Menil, in Werkslegh and Holton 100
Farm of the land of William de Bradshagh, in Blackrode
(yearly) 100
Farm of the town of Clifton 080
Sake-fee of the land of Richard Fitz Roger o 10 o
Moiety of the town of Flixton, for sake-fee 016
The tame rent, for the land of John de la Ware 4 3 6
Rent of Jordan de Crompton o *i 1
Farm of the bailiff, in serjeanty, there 16 o o
Pleas and perquisites of the court of the wappentach there... 4 7 3
£40 5 o
174
MAMECESTRE.
[Chat
And the bailiffs of towns every week, or at least every fifteenth
day, shall make inquiry of all persons being lodged in I irba,
or in foreign places of the towns. And if they do find any that
have lodged or received any strangers or suspicious persons,
against the peace, the bailiffs shall do right therein. And the king
conimandcth that from henceforth [the watch of] all towns be
kept as it hath been used in times past, that is to wit from the day
of Ascension [a moveable fast, from April 30 to June 3] unto the
day of St. Michael [September 29], in every city six men shall
keep watch at every gate; in every borough twelve men; in every
town six or four according to the number of the inhabitants of the
said town ; and shall watch the town constantly all night, from the
sun-setting unto the sun-rising. 52 And if any stranger do pass
" It seems extraordinary that while this statute provides for watching a city or
town nightly from May or Juno to September 29, it contains no enactment for
watch and ward from September 29 to Ascension Day, during the winter months
and long, dark night*, when there is more duuger of fire and thieves. The watch
specified by this statute was popularly termed M the Midsummer Watch." But it
may be thai the closing the gates every evening at sunset, and the prohibition against
persona lodging outside the gates, were deemed sufficient watch and ward during tbe
winter. It is remarkable that the first notice of watch and ward in the city of Lon-
don occurs in the same year, 1285. For some cause King Edward I, substituted for
a mayor, a warden, who was commanded to keep and govern tho citizens according to
their customs and habits, the cit y being then rl in the king's hand." There were then
three principal foil- motes in the year. The second was at Christmas u to arrange the
wards,*' which note states was probably for the purpose of duly keeping watch and
ward throughout the winter. As to keeping the peace, any person found wandering
at night after curfew rung out, with sword and buckler, was to be taken by the keepers
of the peace and put into the Tun [a prison on Oomhill for night-walkers], till tbe
morrow, and then brought before the mayor and aldermen for punishment. No one
was to keep a tavern for wine or ale open after curfew hour, under pain of amerce'
ment, and for the fifth offence, forswearing that trade in the city. Amongst " the
ordinances which king Edward made when he took into his hand the franchise of the
city** in 1185, are some against foreign herbegeoura [harbourers] or hostelers not
being freemen j against the common women dwelling in the city : " and the king doth
will, for the safe keeping and maintaining of his peace, that tho watch for wait, geft~]
shall be set at night within the city in duo manner, and when need shall be.*' Tbe
fl umber in each ward to vary with the size of the ward; "such persons must he
strong, and with good arms, well able to defend ;" they are to make oath before the
.XI.]
INQUISITIONS, a.I). isSi.
175
the
rec
by them, he shall be arrested until morning ; and if no suspicion
be found he shall go quit ; and if they find cause of suspicion
they shall forthwith deliver him to the sheriff, and the sheriff may
eceive him without damage, and shall keep him safely until he
shall be acquitted in due manner. And if they will not obey the
arrest, they shall levy hue and cry upon them, and such as keep
Ethe watch shall follow with hue and cry in all the town and the
towns near, and so hue and cry shall be made from town to town
until they be taken and delivered unto the sheriff, as before is
said; and for the arrests of such strangers none shall be punished.
In a town like Mamecestre towards the close of the thirteenth
century, if these enactments were observed, there would probably
be four men to guard each gate ; the number of which gates must
be stated only as a matter of conjecture, In later times there
were probably four, — the Dene-gate, St. MaryVgate, the Mill-
gate, and the Meal-gate, — still represented by the streets at
whose extremities the old gates inclosed the town, viz. Deansgate,
St. MaryVgate, Long Militate, and Old or Short Mitigate, —
really Meal-gate, from the meal-house being in that direction.
We have seen that in 1282 Thomas (ireslet, at hh father's
death, was but three years of age. During his minority the cus-
tody of the manor was given to a royal favourite named Amadeus
de Savoy. 53 It has been generally supposed that during Thomas
aldermen, well and lawfully to keep ward, and without favour or corruption, to arrest
and attach those who act and go about by night in breach of the peace, &c. Towards
the sustenance of the watch, all hostelers and housekeepers within the ward are to
contribute. Those sworn of the watch, and not duly keeping it, to be punished bj
imprisonment. The arms for the watch to be provided at the cost of the people of
the ward. — (See Lib&r Albu*.}
n Amadeus de Savoy, and not de Saulcy, as Whatton erroneously names him, was
styled count de Savoy and was a courtier so high in favour with Edward 1. that that
monarch sent him to France to aet as the proxy of prince Edward of Caernarvon
(afterward Edward II.) in his espousal of the Princess Isabella, daughter of Philip
the Fair, king of France. Among the Cottonian MSS. is preserved a letter written
by the young prince, then only fifteen years of ago, from his house at Stepney, dated
r$th May 1299, in which he says in right royal phrase, "We do constitute and
appohit a notable personage, Amadeus Count of Savoy, as our true and lawful proxy
176
MAM]
XL
Gresletfs nonage two surveys of the manor were mad*
10 and the 20 Edward E,, that is in the years 1282 find Bat
this appears to be a double mistake. Instead of one survey made
by the officers of the lord of the manor, there were three iuqt
tions or inquiries before juries, directed by the king's writ
year 1282, The most diligent search has failed to discover 1
survey of the manor or enumeration of its issues and profits in
year 1292; and it is believed that the supposition has originated
in error, by mistaking a figure in the regnal year " 10" for u mf 9
the figures 1 and 2 in the MSS. of Keuerden and others b<
often very similar in form.
There are three writs of military summons to Thomas Greslet,
the eighth baron. Having been returned from co. Lincoln as
holding lands or rents, in capite or otherwise, to the amount of
40/. yearly value and upwards, he was summoned under a general
and especial messenger, to contract the espousals, for us and in our Dame, with the
aforesaid Isabelle," &lq. In i 303 the ceremony of affiancing took place, and the cart*
of Lincoln aud Savoy, procurators of the prince of Wales at the eourt of France, in
set phrase, plighted to the little bride the words of troth of Edward of Caernarvon.
The actual marriage did not take place till after the accession of the prince of Wales
to the throne. — (Dr. Boron's Lives of the Princes qf Wales.) It seems probable
that Amadous was a son or near relative of Peter count de Savoy. In 1236 Henry
III. married Eleanor, daughter of the count de Provence, niece of this Peter, who,
coming to England, soon rose in the favour of the king, who granted him the honour
of Richmond (whence he was sometimes erroneously styled earl of Richmond), and
gave him the profitable wardship of the young earl of Warenue. Dr. Hibbert-Warc
and Mr, Baines stale (apparently on the authority of lord chancellor Hyde) that this
Peter do Savoy was created earl of Lancaster ; but we have found no evidence of that
fact. In June 1251 the "mad parliament 1 ' assembled, and a "committee of govern-
ment" was appointed of twenty-four members, twelve chosen by the king and twelve
by the parliament. Amongst the king's twelve was this Peter of Savoy,
the Savoy Palace, London, and at his death (circa 1250), his sou being deemed i
alien, it escheated to the crown, and Henry III. conferred it on his son Edam
Crouehback (so named from wearing a cross or crouch on his back, in token of a
pilgrimage), through whom it became a possession of the earls of Lancaster.
Amadeas seems to have been in as much favour with Edward I. and Edward II. a*
Peter was with Henry III. ; and amongst the substantial marks of this favour was
his custody of the manor of Mameoestre during the nonage of the young Thomas
Orealei, eighth baron, during eighteen yean — 1282-1 300*
Chap. XI.] JNQUI8ITI0NS, a.d. 1281. 177
writ, in the 28 Edward I. (1300) to perform military service
against the Scots ; the muster at Carlisle on the Nativity of St.
John Baptist (24th June). In the 29 Edward I. (1301) he was
summoned from co. Northampton for the same service; the
muster at Berwick-on-Tweed on the 24th June. In the 34 Edward
I. (1306) he was summoned to perform military service in person
against the Scots, or to appear in the exchequer to compound for
such service. To muster at Carlisle in fifteen days of the Nativity
of St. John Baptist (i.e. on or before the 8th July).
The next valuation to be quoted as having reference to the
barony and the manor is the ecclesiastical taxation or valuation
for tithe of Pope Nicholas IV., made about the year 1291, and of
which the following comprises the benefices then existing in the
Deadest or Mamecestee and Blackbuene.
Taxation. Tenth or Tithe.
Church of Mamecestre £53 6 8 £568
Church of Eccles (as believed) 20 o o 2 o o
Priory of Lancaster (share in same) 2 13 4 o 5 4
Church of Prestwyke 18 13 4 1 7 4
ChurchofBury 13 6 8 1 6 8
Church of Middelton 13 6 8 1 6 8
Church of Eakedale 23 6 8 268
Church of Aston 10 o o 1 o o
Church of Flyxton 4 13 4 o 9 4
Church of Blakeburn, with chapels.. 33 6 8 3 6 8
Church of WhaUey, with chapels .. . 66 13 4 6 13 4
Totals £259 6 8 £25 18 8
Deaneey op "Waeeington.
Church of Childwelle £40 o o £4 o o
We have now brought the documentary annals of the manor to
the close of the thirteenth century. The greatest event in its
history, the grant of a charter to the burgesses of Mamecestre at
the beginning of the fourteenth century, must form the subject of
another chapter.
A A
178
CHAPTER XII.
LANCASHIEE TOWN CHARTERS.
Born in 1278-9, Thomas Greslet, eighth baron of Mamecestre,
would attain full age in 1299-1300; his wardship to King Edward
and the custody of the manor held by Amadeus de Savoy would
then cease, and the young baron would enter into the exercise of
his rights and the enjoyment of his large possessions. The opening
of the fourteenth century was an epoch in the history of Mame-
cestre. The young baron, the last of his line, granted to his
town tenants or burgesses a charter, confirming rights, privi-
leges and immunities (many of them, doubtless, enjoyed ori-
ginally by prescription), under which the town or borough was
governed in the strictest feudal law and usage for upwards of five
centuries. What the Magna Carta gave to the people of England
at large, this charter, in a special and limited degree, confirmed
and secured to the burgesses of Mamecestre. It is therefore a
record of the deepest interest in the past history of the place, and
deserving of the greatest care in its elucidation. Before printing
its text, however, it may be well to glance at the earlier charters
granted to the neighbouring boroughs and towns. The charter of
the king to a town raised it to the rank and privileges of a royal
or free borough, and entitled it to send one or more of its bur-
gesses to represent it in parliament. Of such parliamentary or
royal boroughs in Lancashire, Preston appears to have been the
most ancient, being first named a borough in records in 1 183 (30
Henry II.) Lancaster follows in 1193 (5 Richard L); then
Liverpool in 1200 (2 John). The fourth in age is Clitheroe in
*3 2 9 (3 Edward II.); the fifth Wigan in 1399 (1 Henry IV.)
Newton was of much later date, viz. 1558 (1 Elizabeth) ; while
Chap. XII.] LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS. 179
Manchester (though only for a short time) held the parliamentary
franchise in the time of the Commonwealth. It is clear, therefore,
that the charter of 1301 did not confer on Mamecestre the privi-
leges of a royal or parliamentary borough ; but that it was of a
purely feudo-municipal character. What, then, was the so-called
borough of Mamecestre, as recognised and confirmed, rather than
created, by the charter of 1301 ? Rightly to comprehend this we
must go back a little. Both the Latin burgus and the Norman
burg had in all probability their origin in the Anglo-Saxon borh
or burh } meaning a pledge, and at first denoting a company of ten
families, who became mutual pledges or sureties for each other.
As these were usually neighbours, the boundaries which circum-
scribed the neighbourhood came to be called a burg or borough.
This practice increased as families drew more closely and numer-
ously together into hamlets, vills and towns ; and in such towns
as were included in manors, where all the land was the lord's,
each householder paid to the lord a rent or acknowledgment for
his house and plot of land, — which was often a fixed quantity,
usually behind the house (which of course fronted to some street
or lane), and hence in deeds and court-leet records termed " the
back side;" the whole tenement or holding was called a burgage,
i.e. a tenement in a borough, and its tenant a burgess. Boroughs
and burgages existed in Saxon times, and many of both are
expressly recorded in Domesday; though none in Lancashire
appear in that survey. Society being then divided into bond and
free, the freemen were answerable for themselves in borhs or
pledges ; while the villeins had their lords answerable for them.
As towns became boroughs, the old folk-mote became therein the
port-mote or burgh-mote, and with the court-baron of the lord of
the manor was exempted by its charter, or its privileges as a
borough, from its free inhabitants having to follow the shire-
gemote or sheriffs tourn, an itinerating court, held often at some
distance from the homes of its suitors. It is stated to be the
distinguishing character of a borough that it should be exempt
from the interference or ordinary jurisdiction of the sheriff of the
180 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. XII.
county. BurgesseB had returns of all writs, and were quit of suits
of shires or hundreds ; doing suit and service only at the lord's
manorial court, — the court-baron, and the still more ancient
court-leet.
It will be obvious that a charter to a city, town, or borough,
given by the reigning monarch, would be of more value, and of
less easy abrogation by any opposing authority, than one from
earl, baron, or other tenant in capite of the crown. But as the
king granted charters to the citizens of cities, and the burgesses of
towns, — the barons and chief manorial lords, having towns within
their manors or lordships, in imitation of the sovereign, by their
charters gave to the burgesses of such towns various privileges and
immunities. 54 Thus the great earls of Chester gave a succession
of charters to the citizens of Chester, with recognitions of various
ancient rights and immunities. The practice was imitated in turn
by the smaller barons and lords of manors ; and even the older
charters were to some extent adopted as models. Thus when
64 By no class was the effect of the Norman conquest felt more seriously than by
that of the citizens and burgesses. Their Norman lord required of them an annual
rent, and various dues and customs. He commonly farmed these out to the highest
bidder ; who, under the title of bailiff, became the chief local ruler of the oppressed
citizens, instead of their own old elected port-reeve or borough-reeve. By degrees
they bought back some of their old liberties. Their Norman lords found that they
could not extort so much by force as the burgesses would voluntarily pay, for the
sake of getting rid of the obnoxious, petty tyranny of the bailiff, and recovering their
own local self-government. This led the king and other lords of towns to farm them
to the burgesses themselves, who paid a fixed rent, and were thenceforth said to hold
their town in fee-farm, or by burgage tenure. They also obtained charters, entitling
them to elect their own chief officer, who generally took the Norman title of mayor
(which Flintoff deduces from the British maer). Other privileges were similarly
purchased ; for a fine of money was almost invariably the consideration on which a
charter was granted; and the cupidity of the lords made them seek pretexts for
declaring that a borough had forfeited its charter, in which case another fine for a
ro-grant was exacted. Besides these liabilities to the king, or other lord of the city
or land, the burgesses were liable to be tallaged ; that is, to have special contribu-
tions of money levied on them for the lord's behalf, in the same way that aid* were
exacted by him of his land-tenants. — (Creasy on the Constitution.) For tallage
customs see the charters (post.) of Preston, Clitheroo, Salford and Mameccstre.
JiiAr. XII I
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS.
181
Henry de Lacy, — himself an earl, but one of the interior barons
forming the council of the earl of Chester, and also holding the
hereditary office of constable of Chester under the earls of that
palatinate, — wished to give a charter to his burgesses of the tovnx
rf Clitheroe, his charter (circd 1283) grants and confirms to the
jrgesses "all the liberties and free customs 1 ' "which are or have
enjoyed by the free burgesses of Chester^ Here the inferior
copies the superior lord, in his grant. But even royal charters
ccasioually named the liberties of one place as granted thereby
another. Thus the charters to Liverpool of King John (s8th
August 1207) and of his son Henry III, (in 1229) gave to the
burgesses of Liverpool every commercial privilege which was pos-
ted by the merchants of London, Bristol, Lynn and the other
great ports of the kingdom. This imitative practice of granting
to one place the liberties, &c, enjoyed by the burgesses of some
other place named, — thus making the privileges of one place the
precedent or model for another, — renders necessary a brief notice
of the earliest charters to Lancashire towns, so far as they precede
that of Mamecestre in 1301, 55 The most aucient of these appears
to be that of Preston, which precedes the Manchester charter by
two centuries.
* The municipal privileges of the earlier towns of England were mostly derived
from Roman sources, with the addition of Saxon and Norman, and a few lingering
British customs and usages* These were enjoyed anterior to the grant of the earliest
charters, and these chatters, whether granted by king, earl or baron, must conse-
quently be regarded rather as the formal confirmation and ratification of customs,
privileges and immunities already venerable from their antiquity, than the first
accordance of such franchises. Indeed most of the early charters express this fact in
plain terms, confirming to the men of the town, the burgesses or citizens, all the
Liberties, free customs and franchises, which they have had from of old time, or which
have ever had* In Anglo-Saxon times the Icing had an officer called the king's
reeve or receiver, in a town, to collect and receive therein the taxes and tolls due to
the king j and when the king n gave a town" to a queen, a bishop or abbey, the gift
was simply of those dues or duties accruing to the crown from such town* Most
Saxon towns were royal towns, having no superior lord but the king. Others, after
the introduction of Christianity, grodually grew up about episcopal sees, abbeys,
priories, &c, and eventually received recognition and confirmation of their liberties
] 82 M AMECE8TRE. [Chap. XII.
PRESTON. — A Borough. — ? 1100.
The corporation of Preston possesses a certificate, under the
hand and seal of Sir Thomas Walmesley, a judge of the Common
Pleas in the reign of James I., stating that he had seen a charter
granted by Henry I. to the burgesses of Preston in the first year
of his reign (1100). This, it is said also, appears "ex Bundell:
Escaet: Anno 1 Henry III. num. 18." It is believed that this
charter is the same document with what is called the ancient
" Custumale" of Preston, of which the pendant seal has been lost,
and which is without date. From the most accurate translation of
the original it appears to commence thus : —
These are the liberties of Preston in Amundrenesse. It grants — 1.
A guild-merchant, with hanse and other customs thereto belonging. 2.
and immunities at the hands of their ecclesiastical lords and protectors. When the
king's reeve or the lord's bailiff practised heavy extortions and grievous oppressions!
the townspeople purchased a charter enabling them to choose their own reeve, and
protecting them against the petty tyranny of the taxing officers of their superior, and
when the town was under the king the burgesses, whenever they could, invariably
bought the farm of the king's dues for ever, which was called the fee-farm of the
town. Such will be found to have been the case with Liverpool. As to the provi-
sions of charters they were based mainly on the great mass of customs, which formed
the old common law, the unwritten law of England (" lex non scripta? 1 ) anterior to
the commencement of legal memory, i.e. aj>. 1189. To this may be added the
liberties and immunities directly declared by Magna Carta and the statute or written
law, subsequent to that year. It would be a vain and futile labour to endeavour to
give the origin of each clause or provision of a charter of the Anglo-Norman or early
English period, amongst a mass of old British and Romano-British, Saxon, Danish
and Norman customs and usages, modified as many of these were in their transmis-
sion from country to country, and their transfusion from race to race of men.
Probably the great body of town-law in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries
consisted of Saxon customs and usages, modified and supplemented by the require-
ments of the Norman feudal system. The reader who would study this subject should
consult for the old British laws the Triads of the Isle of Britain, Ancient Welsh laws,
and the Laws of Hoel the Good. For the Roman municipal law, Justinian's Institutes
and Savigny's History of the Roman Law. For the Anglo-Saxon laws, those of Ina,
Alfred, Athelstan, Edgar, and Edward the Confessor ; for the Anglo-Danes, those of
Canute ; and for those of the Anglo-Normans, the laws of William the Conqueror,
the Domesday Survey, Magna Carta, and the earliest portion of the statute-book, as
well as the legal treatises of Bract on, Flcta, &c.
KXI.]
LANCASHIRE TOWN niAUTEKS.
183
I ding tny land, and in the guild nnd hanse, paying scot
i a year and a day, shall remain free in the town. 9, The bur-
feo have 8oc and sac, toll and them, and infangthef; and to be
it throughout all my land of toll, lastage, passage, pontage, and
tillage ; land-geld, Dane-geld, grithwite [peace-breach], and all other
stoma throughout our land and domain, as well in Eugland as in
other our lands; and no ■tariff shall intermeddle with the burgesses
Kerning any pica, plaint or dispute, pertaining to the town, save the
leas of the crown, 4. To become a burgess, a man must come into
emtrt and give to the mayor [propositus CC p rq fee tUi , /.c reeve or port-
reeve] 1 2d. and shall take his burgage lVuiu the pnetors, [F] giving to the
ant a penny that he may certify him to have been made a
burgess in court, g. If his burgage shall be a void place, the mayor
shall admit him, so that he shall erect his burgage within forty days, on
forfeiture; if be does not erect it, be shall be in mercy \2d. 6. Wben
any burgess shall challenge his burgage against another, and the tenant
holding it shall prove it to have been held without challenge many
years and days, and for one year and day shall prove himself to have
been possessed of it, by the oath of two of his neighbours in court, he
shall hold it, without contradiction of any claimant, for one year and a
day. 7. If any burgess complain of any matter, and another challenge
against him, the plaintiff for judgment shall name two witnesses, and
he ni:i\ ba?e any Lawful person for witness and another burgess; but
the defendant against a burgess shall be put to his oath at third hand
by his peers. [? Shall have two witnesses besides himself.] 8, The
amerciament in our court shall not exceed 12 J., unless for toll evaded,
and then the amerciament shall be i2,w q. A burgess shall be bound
to come to no more than three port-motes yearly, unless there be a
plea against him; and unless tie shall oome to some one great port-
mote, he shall be amerced izd. to. The mayor shall collect the king's
farm at the four seasons of the year ; and shall go once for the farm,
and another time if he pleases, and (it* not paid) shall take away
[depart e t hm(iun{\ the door of the burgage, and the burgess shall not
replace it till he have paid his debt, unless at the will of the mayor. 1 1.
If any burgess buy any bargain or merchandise, and give earnest, and
be seller repent of his bargain, he shall double the earnest ; hut if the
buyer shall have handled the goods, he shall either have the merchandise
184 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. XII.
or 5*. [as rue-bargain] from the seller. 12. If any burgess shall have
drink for sale, he shall sell according to the assise made by the bur-
gesses, uless it shall be replaced by the tunnel. 13. A burgess shall
not come to the mayor after sunset for any claim, if he is unwilling,
unless the claim be made by a stranger. 14. A burgess shall accom-
modate his lord out of his bargain, the lord paying him within forty
days ; if not, the burgess shall not accommdate him again until he shall
pay. 15. No one can be a burgess, unless he hold a burgage of twelve
feet in front. 16. If a burgess sell for more than the assise, he shall
be in mercy i2<£, and he who brought in [? bought or informed]
nothing, so the burgess shall of the court have fuel, fire and water to
make judgment. 17. If any be taken for theft, or breach of trust, and
be condemned, he who sued shall do [or execute] justice. 18. If a
burgess wound another, who shall be willing to agree amicably, he shall
give for every bruise the breadth of a thumb 4^., and for every wound
8d. ; and whoever is wounded may prove what he has lost by the wound,
and the other shall return to him what he has paid the surgeon for
healing the wound. And the arms shall be brought to him, and he
shall swear upon his arms that he has been wounded, and such things
have been done to him, and that, if his friends [? borhs] consent, he
will take what is offered to him. 19. If one burgess complain of
another burgess that he owes a debt to him and the other acknowledge
the debt, the reeve [not the mayor] shall command him to avoid [i.e.
pay] the debt within eight days, on forfeiture of 8d. the first week, 1 2 d.
the second week, and so for every week till he shall render the debt.
But if he deny the debt, and the plaintiff hath witnesses, he shall
deny by a third hand upon oath, and the plaintiff shall be amerced
1 2d. If the defendant come with his witnesses and the plaintiff shall
not come, the defendant shall be quit and the plaintiff in mercy. If the
plaintiff be unable to come and send any one in his stead before the
court, he may take the defendant's oath. No plaint or forfeiture shall
be set on any burgess in the court exceeding i2<7. unless he shall be
vouched to duel, and duel be adjudged to him ; but if duel be adjudged
and waged, he shall be in mercy 40*. 20. If a burgess marry his
daughter or grand-daughter to any one, he may marry her without the
license of any one. 2 1 . A burgess may make an oven upon his ground
and take furnage for one load of meal [or seam of corn, sutnafaris] one
Chap. XII ]
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS.
185
halfpenny ; and the owner of Hie meal <>r enrn shall find wood to beat
the oven. 22. The bur gesse s shall not go to the oven or to the kiln
[of the lord] unless they please, 23. If \\n\ oflefr kiln take fire, and it
have one door, he shall give 40J. ; if H vo doors half a mark
[6#. Sd.] 24. If burgesses, by the common council [counsel] of the neigh-
bourhood, travel for any business of the town T their mftWHM shall be
rendered to them when 0ss* return. 25. A stranger may not share in
any merchandise with the burgesses of our town. s& When a burgess
wishes to sell his burgage, his next of kin m:i before any other;
and when sold, and he hath not another bur -hall
be seised, he shall J. from the issue; hut if he hath another
burgage, he shall give DotinBg. 27. If a burgess shall be in mercy for
[break tag the tone of] bread Ot ale T the first, second and third time
bni tin .-fourth tin D go to the euek-
stool. [ U HU at Gael '] 28. If a burgess of the town die
suddenly, his wife and his heirs shall quietly have all his chattels and
lands, so that neither his lord nor the justices may lay hands OB the
bouses or chattels of the rtoirranort, nnUan he shall have beeu publicly
nnnunicated j in which ease, by the counsel of the priest and the
neighbours, they are to be expended in alms. 29. The wife of the
tl oeoaflO d may marry whomsoever she please. 30* If any one demand a
debt el another before the reeve, if he he unwilling to pay, the mayor
[? reeve] shall render to the plaintiff his debt fnun the king's purse,
and shall distrain on the other's chattels, to pay the debt, or he shall
seize th»- hoosa [burgage] into bfa h Die btogeassa shall not
receive claim from the reeve on a market-day, unless the claim be m
by a stranger. 32. A burgess gives no transit [? toll off l u-toin]. 33.
A burgess hath common pasture everywhere [in the borough] except in
cornfields, meadows and hayes. 34. If a burgess shall strike the mayor
or reeve of the borough [two names for the same officer] in court and be
convicted, he shall thenceforth be in mercy for the offence. 33. If the
reeve shall strike any one out of court, be shall be in mercy for his
burgess shall strike the reeve OVi of SOT*t| hi shall
1 mercy 40*. 37. If a burgess shnl] m POOme another, if he confess
it, 1. ted i2d.\ if be deny it. he shall blear himself by a
38. If any cms carrying false money shall he taken -hall
reml king the false moneys H then- l>e, and shall
B 11
186
MAMECESTItE.
rCiiAf.XII.
account in the rent of his [the burgess's] form for the goods, and
deliver his body to the king for judgment. 39. Begrators shall not buy
anything sold on a market day to a relator, until the bell be rung in
the evening, nor on any day in the week, until that which he boi
shall be in the town for one night* 40. The burgesses shall not go in
any expedition, unless with the lord himself, unless thev may be able to
return on the same day. 41. If any one shall be summoned when
justice erf the town shall be in the expedition, and shall not go, and
acknowledge himself to have heard, he shall forfeit nd, If he denies to
have heard the edict, he shall clear himself by his own oath ; but if he
shall have essoin [excuse], to wit, either by his wife's lying in childbed
of ■ son, or other reasonable essoin, he shall not pay. If he is g<
with the person of the king, he shall not have essoin, 42. It il
custom of the borough that no burgess ought to be taken for an accu-
sation by the lord or by the reeve if he have sufficient pledges. So of
rhim made in the borough by any knight, if duel be adjudged betw*
the burgess and knight, the knight may not find a substitute, unless it
be found that he ought not to fight, 43. If the reeve command any
burgess by another than his [the reeve's] own servant, and he ■ball not
come, he shall forfeit nothing. 44, No justice shall lay hold on the
house or chattels of any deceased [burgess], 45. If any one call a
married woman a whore, and complaint be made, and witnesses be
absent, she may clear herself by her own oath ; and he by whom it was
said shall do [her] this justice, — he shall take himself by the no$Cy and
say he hath spoken a lie, and shall be pardoned. There is the n
judgment as to a widow. — This is the l&w of Preston hi Amouiidre-
neBse, which they have from the law of the Bretons. 56
The next charter to Preston was granted by Henry II., in all
probability in the twenty-sixth year of his reign (1179-80). It
briefly confers upon the burgesses of Preston the privileges pre-
** What this means is not very clear. Perhaps that the law was derived from the
old law of Cheshire, called the Mercen4agc t or Mercian law, which embodied to it a
considerable admixture of the old laws of the Britons or Welsh. This OutumaU Is
a remarkable body of municipal law, bearing date, as it appears to do, only thirty-
four years after the Norman Conquest. A volume might be written in illustration of
the singular customs and usages it sets forth, and their probable origin.
Chap. XIL]
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS.
187
viously granted u to his burgesses of Newcastle-under-Lyne," As
the Staffordshire borough's charter is lost, it can only be supposed
*hat the liberties usually granted to free boroughs were therein
riven. In a confirmation of this charter by King John, the
)rivilegcs are described as u the liberties and free customs which
the lord Henry our father gave, granted, and by his charter con-
irraed, to the same burgesses ; the whole toll of the wapentake or
lundred of Anaounderaess, and a free fair at Preston at the
Assumption of St. Mary [August 25] to last eight days." Henry
II. confirmed former charters; and Edward III. in 1328, after
confirming all previous rights and privileges, further grants to the
)urgesses of Preston, "that they and their heirs shall have for
ever a weekly market in the town, and a [second] fair in like
manner every year, to last five days, — the vigil and feast of the
apostles Simon and Jude [October 28] and the three days next
bllowing. Enough has bceu cited to show that Preston was a
royal free borough, parliamentary and municipal.
CLITHERO,— Borough.
l 47-
The charter granted by Henry de Lacy, the first of that name,
& the burgesses of Clithero, no longer exists ; but it is distinctly
referred to in the oldest charter extant, that of Henry de Lacy,
arl of Lincoln, circd 1283. In this he grants —
To our free burgesses of Clithero all their burgages, lands, and tene-
ments, with all their appurtenances, within and without the town, with
II their liberties, commons and easements, to the said burgages, &c,
)elonging, excepting our wood of Saltbull, &e. We have also granted
and confirmed to the said burgesses all the liberties and free customs
which they have heretofore had of the gift and grant of Henry de
jasey, our ancestor, — that is to say, those which the free burgesses of
Chester have, and which at any time they have freely bad or have or
lave used. We grant also and confirm to the said burgesses the farm
of the town of Clithero, with the issues and amerciaments to the said
>leas and court of the town belonging, except whatsoever toll [there
be] which we retain to the use of ourselves and our tain ; and
188 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XII.
saving to us and our heirs plaints 67 and trespasses made on our friends,
by the said burgesses and others in the said town, — to wit, on their
bodies; so that they who offend shall make full amends before the
steward, or our bailiffs, according to custom and the law of the land.
We have also given and granted to our said burgesses turbary within
the limits of Bashall, &c. To have and to hold all the aforesaid, with
all their appurtenances, to the said burgesses, their heirs or assigns,
freely, peaceably, honourably and whoDy, of us and of our heirs for
ever ; paying yearly, therefor, to us and to our heirs ten marks [61. 13*.
4<£] at the feast of St. Michael [September 29] for all services to us
and to our heirs belonging ; — saving to us and to our heirs talliage of
the said town, when the king makes talliage of his dominions, and the
rest of the customs [dues], which the free burgesses of Chester do to
their lord.
Henry IV., by deed in the eleventh year of his reign (4th
December 1409) granted two fairs to Clithero. But what free
liberties and customs were granted or confirmed by the charter of
1283, we can only learn from the charters of the earls of Chester
to that ancient city, and from its Custumale, or inventory of rights,
privileges and immunities. It was natural for Henry de Lacy, as
a feudatory and a chief officer (constable of Chester) to the third
Handle, seventh earl of Chester, to copy the grants of his chief
lord; and we must, therefore, refer to three charters of this
greatest of the earls of Chester and to the Custumale for informa-
tion as to the rights, &c, of the burgesses of Clithero. None of
these charters are dated. The first charter to Chester was granted
by Randle filundeville, seventh earl of Chester, some time within
the years 1190-1211, daring the constableship of Roger, seventh
baron of Halton, who is a witness to the charter : —
I have given, &c., to my citizens of Chester their guild-merchant,
with all the free liberties and customs which they have ever freely and
quietly had in the time of my ancestors, in the said guild. And I
forbid upon penalty to me of 10/. that no man trouble them thereof.
S7 Plaint (French plaint e, Latin querela) is the propounding or exhibiting any
action, real or personal, in writing ; and the party making it is called the plaintiff or
complainant (querentes).
Chap. XIL] LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS. 189
A second and longer charter was granted to the citizens by the
same earl, also within the twenty-one years of Roger's constable-
ship ; and its chief clauses are : —
I have given, granted, Ac, to my citizens of Chester, all the liberties
and free customs which they have ever had, freely and quietly, in the
time of my ancestors, — to wit, acquittances, releases, and recognizances,
with the appurtenances, in the city of Chester for ever. If any citizen,
Ac., die, his will, Ac. If any citizen, Ac, do buy anything in open day
before witnesses, Ac. If any citizen, Ac, do lend any of his goods or
chattels to any man, it may be lawful, Ac. If a citizen be slain in my
service, Ac. All these liberties and free customs I have given to the
said citizens, to hold of me and my heirs, freely, Ac, for ever ; and I
forbid that no man hinder or trouble them thereof, upon pain of 10I.
The unfinished clauses, ending with " &c." will be found fully
seth forth in the Custumale. The third charter, also without
date, is by the same earl, and as amongst the witnesses are con-
stable .Roger and Master Hugh, Abbot, this fixes the date of this
charter within the three years 1208-1211, in the first of which
Hugh Grylle succeeded to the abbacy, and in the latter Roger the
constable died : —
I have granted, Ac, to my citizens of Chester and to their heirs, that
no man shall buy or sell any kind of merchandise which cometh to the
city of Chester, by sea or land, but themselves or their heirs, by their
grant, except in the [two] fairs, Ac. Wherefore I will that my said
citizens, Ac, have and hold the aforesaid liberties of me and my heirs
for ever, freely, quietly, peaceably and honourably. And I forbid, upon
pain of 10/. to be paid to my use, any man troubling or hindering them
of their said liberties.
Succeeding earls granted other charters, but the royal one of
28 Edward I. (June 12, 1303) appears to have conferred the
largest immunities on the citizens, namely, exemption throughout
England and Wales from soc, sac, toll, them, infangethef and
utfangethef, &c. The following translation of the ancient Custu-
male or Record of the Liberties of Chester, is from the only copy
190
MAMECESTRE,
[Our. XII.
of it known to be extant \ and it is singular that this should be
foiindj not amongst the muniments and archives of Chester, but
in a little box in the custody of the corporation of Clithero : —
THE LIBERTIES OF CHESTER.
The mayor and citizens of Chester do challenge these liberty
wit: — First, that the city of Chester is a free city, and that the fore-
said citizens may by their own power choose yearly a mayor, on
Friday next after the feast of St, Dionise. [? St. Denis, bishop of
Corinth, April 8]. But having [i.e. but he must have] first mad.
oath of the law of the king, and sworn to the said citizens to pre-
serve the liberties of the city. Also thai iay of their own power
choose two sheriffs on the day named and in manner aforesaid, on which,
at the command of the said city, the mayor and bailiffs thereof do a
and perform their oaths, [The oath of the mayor and bailiffs follows*
It is chiefly of allegiance to the king, and defence of the rights of the
crown, and thus concludes : — u You shall preserve the liberties of
city as much as in you lieth. You shall keep two leet courts in the
J80T, if God shall lend you life. You shall look that the officers do
their duties under you to the uttermost of their power,"] The mayor
and citizens also challenge to have two markets every week of the year,
on the Wednesday and Saturday, and all things appertaining to a
market. Also two fairs in every year in the said city, on*
feast of the Nativity of St, John Baptist and the other on the
8t. Mirhat 1 the Archangel [June 24 and September 29], and all things
belonging to a fair. They also challenge to have this liberty under-
written, — to wit, acquittances, releases, recognizances, with their
appurtenances, and the Pemike [a court, so named from its pent-li<
porch] in the city for them, their heirs and successors for ever. If any
citizen die, his will, heing reasonably made, shall be accounted si:
and sure, in what place soever he shall die. If any citizen do buy
anything upon the eighth day [? in open day], and before witnesses,
and n afterwards shall come out of France or England, who
can reasonably repr o ve [r claim as his] the thing bought by the
the Htizrii who bought it shall he quit from the earl of Chester and hia
hail ill's ; losing only and raftering the thing bought. If any man
come to the bailiffs, who 0lfl reasonably disprove the thing bougl
Our. XIL]
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS.
191
shall pay the price of it to the citizen, which the citizen can reasonably
prove he paid for it. If any citizen, <&e. t have lent to any man any of
his goods and chattels, it may he lawful to him to take no man in the
city for the recovery of his goods without the license required of the
sheriff or any bailiiT of the said earl. If any citizen be slain in the
service of the king, his goods shall be disposed of as a nil if he had made
a will lawful, and no man shall trouble them, their heirs or successors,
upon pain of 20/. to he paid to the earl. No man shall buy or sell any
kind of merchandise which shall come to tlie City by sea or land, except
themselves, their heirs and successors, or by their grant, unless in the
lairs holden upon the feast days of St. John Baptist and St. Michael ;
and no man shall hinder or trouble them of the aforesaid liberty on pain
of 10/. to he paid to the earl for his own use. And the said city doth
challenge all their liberties and free customs to be holden of the said
earl, «&c., to the said citizens, &e M for ever. Yiel rly to the said
earl, &e., the sum of 20Z, at the feasts of Easter ami St. Michael by
equal portions. And also they challenge that they may of their own
power choose coroners in the said city so often as need requireth, who
shall swear before the mayor of the city that they will faithfully do aud
execute attachments and pleas of the crown and of the said earl, within
the said city and liberties thereof, and other things belonging to the
office of coroners. And to have and hold all pitas of the crown whi< h
shall happen within their liberties, to be pleaded before the mayor and
bailiffs of the said earl in the court of the said city, and to receive all amer-
ciaments and all other things which belong to the said earl in this helialf,
■ or which they know the predecessors of the said earl to have been accus-
tomed to receive before time. And also they claim to have for ever sac
[and soc], toll, and infaogethef and utfangethef, and quiet being
[quittance] through all the dominions of the said earl, from M theolonio,
passagio, laatagio, marigio [?], passagio, pontagio et stallagio, dainguilt,
guiltbitt, 68 and all other customs, as well within England as in all ot 1 1 - C
• Theoloniitm t toll, — Fa&sagium (Latin transitum)^ is a free passage over water,
or else the toll demanded for such passage. — Lattagium or lastage is a custom paid
on wares sold by the measure called a last, aa herrings, pitch, &c. — Marigium we
cannot find j but there may hare been some coast* toll on merchandise brought over
aea bearing some such name. Or it ma; be a clerical error for murage, a toll levied
on horses and carts for the repair of the walla of a town or city. In a charter of
192 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XII.
dominions of the said earl. And also they challenge that if any do die,
testate or intestate, [neither] the said earl nor his heirs shall cause their
goods to be confiscated; but their executors or nearest friends shall
have them wholly. Also that no bailiff or officer of the said earl, of the
said city, shall attach or distrain within the liberties of the said city, or
execute the office of bailiff in default of the foresaid citizens or [their]
bailiff. Also they challenge that if any man be attached or apprehended
within the liberties of the city [he] shall be brought to the prison of
the said earl in the said city, to wit, to Northgate, there to be detained
and kept until he be delivered according to the law and custom of the
said city. Also they challenge that they themselves or their goods, in
what place or dominion soever of the said earl, shall not be arrested for
any default, whereto they stand not either as sureties or principal
debtors. Also they challenge to have their merchantable guild [or
guild-merchant, gilda mercatoria] with all liberties and free customs
which they ever freely and quietly have had in the time of the ancestors
of the said earl in the said guild. Also they challenge to have all the
goods of felons and fugitives within the liberties of the said city which
do amount to the value of 30Z. or under, and if the said goods do exceed
the value of 30J. the said earl shall have all the residue. Also they
challenge that the mayor of the city shall have the office of escheator of
the said earl within the liberties of the city, and shall be as escheator ;
that every mayor at the time he is chosen shall come into the exchequer
of the earl, before the justice of the earl or his deputy, and the cham-
berlain of the earl and his heirs, or at least before the chamberlain, and
shall swear faithfully to execute the said office, and to make a true
account thereof to the earl. The mayor and citizens by these words
Edward I. to the city of London, the citizens were declared " quit of parage, pontage
and murage." (See Liber Albut.) In the context we cannot think it means mart-
tagium, the custom paid on a marriage. The second time the word pastagio occurs
in the text is doubtless a mistake for pesagio. Pesage is a custom or duty paid for
weighing merchandise or other goods, and pesarius was a weigher. Poniagium,
pontage, was a toll taken from persons passing over a bridge. StdUagium or stallage
was the toll paid to the lord for pitching or erecting stalls (Anglo-Saxon stal) or
standings, in fairs or markets. DainguiU (Latin Dane-gildum) is of course Dane-
geld, and Chuitt'bitt is probably the small yearly payment towards the guild-
merchants of those days. Or it may be a corruption for gavel-bit y a sort of arbitrary
rent or custom paid to the lord.
Cmr. XIII
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS.
193
41 acquittances, releases, recognizances and patents" do challenge to
have record and to receive all manner of recognizances, as well for
innrt '-keeping as for all manner of debts, to what sum soever amounting,
re the mayor for the time being, in their court there, called tho
Portemote, and to record, receive, and make releases and acquittances
of the premises in the said court. Also to determine of all indictments
and forfeitures in the said court, and to take issues, amerciaments, and
fines thereof, to their own proper nses. And by these words " mer-
chantable guild, with all liberties and free customs which they ever
freely and quietly have had," they challenge that upon the Friday next
after the feast of St. Dyonise, they may of their own power choose
every year two stewards of the iHifltfi guild, which he of the fraternity
of the same guild ; who then shall swear before the mayor and sheriffs
and other citizens, that they will truly and sufficiently make account of
all money by them received, of any per- tag fllto the guild, and
of all other customs of the said guild, which have been reeeived time
out of mind, and appertain to the said guild. That even one that is of
the said guild shall be a free man in the said city, and may buy within
the liberties of the city all kinds of merchandise coming to the city by
sea or land. That no man that is admitted into the said guild shall buy
anything within the liberties of the city without consent of the stewards
of the guild. And for the maintenance of the said guild they may take,
as their predecessors time out of mind have taken, these customs, —
every ton of iron +d. And by this word "saeke 1 * ihev challenge to hold
pleas in their court called the Ptfftdtbtf, before the sheriffs of (lie eity ;
and all manner of complaints and pleas personal between parties, of
every cause arising within the liberties, &C,, which do belong to a court
baron. And also to have suit of all free citizens. And by this word
"Pendlce Court" they challenge to have in tne said court all kinds of
pleas and plaints amounting to any sum, and all pleas personal, and all
plaints arising within the liberties of the eity j and also to have to their
own proper use all issues, fines, forfeitures and amerciaments arising
within the said court. And by this word a aaffll» n * they challenge to
have lines, issues, amerciaments and forfeitures, ol and for all articles,
89 Thia ia the secoud time that the PlttlTTTHllft explains what is claimed under the
term"9ackc." Perhaps thia latter should be "soo" or "soke," which implies tho
liberty of freemen within the jurisdiction of the lord of the manor,
c c
194
HAMECESTRE
[CttAl
complaints and pleas coming out of the said court, which tain
to a court baroe. And by this word " Portemote" they ehal
hare and to hold a certain court in the city erery fifteen
the PorteinnH _■. in the common hall before the mayor of t. and
there to hear and determine all plaints and pleas, real and pen
all lands and tenements within the city, and the liberties tht i
arising or being; and to make execution thereof A a all
articles which belong to the view of frank pledge, by indict ineut in rolls
or inquiry, and then to hear and determine, and execute. And aK
have and to hold to their proper uses all issues, fines and forfeiture!
whatsoever proceeding out of the said court. And by this word l t
they challenge to have and take toll for all kinds of merchandise boo
or sold within the liberties of the city. To wit, tor every whip eon
within the liberties of the city, with any merchandise or vi-
"keile" [a keel] toll 4*/. and to the clerk id. For every 1
having merchandise in the city exceeding the value
toll on all his merchandise 4^., and the clerk itL \ml
of Viae +&., and for every [blank, ? ton or cart-load] of
merchandise coming in or going out of the city anil the liberties thereof
4 d. ; and if there be more merchant one of them 44/.; ami
every horse carrying in or out of the city any load or fardel [bundle
mil nkiudiM" or v j eh mis tube bought or sold ui; and for every b
bought 4*/. ; for every OX, CSOW, 0T heifer id. - for three sheep 4*/,, and if
there he more 4*/. j mid for every pair of wheels ±d. And by this v
"Tbeni" they challenge that every one born within the liberties of the
city [that] shall continue quiet within the franchisee and liberties of
the city, a year and a day — him and his goods shall be quiet from the
earl, and from any others in the city of Chester, And by this word
H Infangthief ' they challenge that felons apprehended within the li
ties of the city [the rest of the sentence is illegible; probably "shall
be tried before the mayor and bailiff a in the Pendice"]. And by this
word "Outfiingthief they challenge that if any felon of the city be
Apprehended for felony, without the city and count -hall
he delivered to the officer of the city to take execution. And also
they ehallenge by this word "Theolonio" that they may be i\ee from
fll] toll for any kind of merchandise or any other things bought or
fold by them, in any fairs or markets, or other places, as well within
Ciuf. XII,] LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS. 195
tin- city of Chester as through all the county of Chester; and also as
well throughout all England as in Wales and the marches thereof.
There are of course many privileges and immunities of the
citizens of Chester, which could not in the nature of things be
enjoyed by the burgesses of Clithero; — for instance its franchises
as a free port, and as possessing a guild-merchant. But enough
remains to give the burgesses of Clithero very large liberties if
duly claimed by them, and allowed by authorities higher than
that of their feudal lords the Lacies. And it does appear that the
Clithero burgesses had a royal confirmation of their liberties : —
In 1229 Edward I. conferral nil the liberties and free customs
granted in a charter of Henry do Lacy, earl of Lincoln, to the free
tnirgeesee of Clithero and their heirs, giving them their burgages and
lands, which they had by the gflttt of the king's ancestors or of :
said Henry ; and the same privileges as the burgesses of Chester ; —
fcher with the farm of the town of Clithero, its profits and amerce-
ments, and righl of turbary,
LANCASTER. — Borough.— n88?
John, earl of Mortaigne or Moreton, before he ascended the
throne, some time 1 183—1 1^9, probably about 1188, granted a
charter to his burgesses of Lancaster, by which he gave to them
all the liberties and free customs enjoyed by his burgesses of
Bristol. His charter to that city grants and confirms —
1. To my burgesses of Bristol, dwelling within the walls and without,
as far as the boundary of the town, all their liberties ami free customs,
aa well, freely and completely (or more so) as they ever had them in
m\ time or the time of mj pn-deeessors, viz. 2, No burgess of Bristol
shall plead or be impleaded out of the walls of the town in any plea,
except pleas relating to foreign tenures, which do not belong to the
hundred of the I own, and that they shall be quit of murder within the
hounds of the town. 3, No burgess shall wage duel, unless be shall
have been appealed, for the death of any stranger who was killed in the
town, and did not belong to it* 4, No one shall take an mn within the
196 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XII.
walls, by assignment or by livery of the marshal, against the will of the
burgesses. 5. They shall be quit of toll and lastage and pontage, and
of all other customs throughout my whole land and power. 6. No one
shall be condemned in a matter of money, unless according to the law
of the hundred, viz., by forfeiture of 40*. 7. The said hundred court
shall be held only once a week ; and no one, in any plea, shall be able
to argue his cause in miskenning. 8. They may lawfully have their
lands, tenures, mortgages and debts, throughout my whole land,
whoever owes them anything. As to lands and tenures within the
town, they shall be held by them duly according to the custom of the
town. 9. As to debts which have been lent in Bristol, and mortgages
there made, pleas shall be held in the town, according to the custom
of the town. 10. If any one, in any other place in my land, shall take
toll of the men of Bristol, if he shall not restore it after he shall be
required, the reeve [propositus'] of Bristol shall take from him a
distress at Bristol and force him to restore it. 11. No stranger trades-
man shall buy within the town, of a man who is a stranger, leather, corn
or wool ; but only of the burgesses. 12. No stranger shall have a wine
shop, unless in a ship ; nor sell cloth for cutting, except at the fair.
13. No stranger shall remain in the town with his goods for the pur-
pose of selling, but for forty days. 14. No burgess shall be confined or
distrained any where else, within my lands or power, for any debt,
unless he be debtor or surety. 15. They shall be able to marry them-
selves, their sons, their daughters, and their widows, without the license
of their lords. 16. No one of their lords shall have the wardship or
the disposal of their sons or daughters, on account of the lands out of
the town ; but only the wardship of their tenements which belong to
their own fee, until they shall be of age. 17. There shall be no recog-
nition (?) in the town. 18. No one shall take tyne [? teind, tithe] in
the town, unless for the use of the lord earl [John himself], and that
according to the custom of the town. 19. They may grind their corn
wherever they shall choose. 20. They may have all their reasonable
guilds, as well or better than they had them in the time of Bobert and
his son William, earls of Gloucester. 60 2 1 . No burgess shall be com-
60 Bobert, surnamed the Consul, was a natural son of Henry I. He was created
(first) earl of Gloucester. Dying in 1147, he was succeeded in the earldom by
William, his son and heir, who died in 1 1 7 3 s.p.m., and the earldom passed to the
Chap. XI L]
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS.
197
pelled to bail any man, unless he himself choose it, although he be
dwelling on his land. 22. We have also granted to them all their
ins within the walls and without] as aforesaid, in messuages, copses,
buildings, on the water and elsewhere, wherever they shall be in the
town, to be held in free burgage, ri*. by land-gable [gavel] service,
which they shall pay within the walls/ 51 23, Any of them may make
improvement*) as much as they can in erecting buildings, on the lunik
[? of the Severn] and elsewhere, so it is without damage of the borough
and town. 24. They shall have and possess all void grounds and places,
aineii within the said boundaries, to be built on at their pleasure.
Wherefore 1 will and firmly enjoin that my burgesses aforesaid and
their heirs shall have and hold all their aforesnid liberties and free
customs, as above written, of me and my heirs, as well and completely
(or more so) as ever they had them in good times, well and peaceably
and honourably, without hindrance or molestation which any one may
oiler tlirin on Quit account.
In 1 199 the carl of Morcton, on ascending the throne as King
John, abrogated his former charter to Lancaster so far as regards
the liberties of Bristol, instead of which he conferred on his bur-
gesses of Lancaster the liberties which the late king his father
(Henry II.) had granted to Northampton, and confirmed the
other grants contained in the charter. Of this charter we do not
find a copy ; but amongst the most important liberties and immu-
nities which it grants are— - Quittance of toll throughout all
England and the ports of the sea ; a court of pleas of all debts
contracted at Lancaster; power to choose a mayor annually; a
yearly fair of eleven days and a weekly market ; and the enjoyment
of all other liberties and free customs of the citizens of London.
This charter was confirmed by Henry III. in 1226. We see,
therefore, that in succession rights and liberties were granted to
husband of Isabel, his third daughter and coheir, John Plautagenet, younger son of
Henry II,
*' Ghibcl (yabella*, gablum, gabtagtum) in French gavelle, is a term variously used
■ a tax, a rent, a tribute, a custom, a service, payable- or to be rendered to the lord.
lere it is treated as a service equivalent to burgage tenure.
198 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XII.
the burgesses of Lancaster, such as were enjoyed by Bristol,
Northampton and London.
LIVERPOOL. — Feeb Borough on the Sea. — 1207.
King John, having exchanged lands with Henry Fitz-Warine of
Lancaster, became possessed of the town of Liverpool by deed on
the 28th August 1207 ; and the very same day, by a short charter,
he raised it to the dignity and privilege of a free sea-port : —
We have granted to all who shall take burgages at Liverpul, that
they shall have all liberties and free customs, in the town of Liverpul,
which any free borough on the sea hath, in our land.
The free boroughs on the sea at that period were London, Bristol,
Hull, Lynn, Southampton, Newcastle-on-Tyne, &c. The second
charter to Liverpool was granted by John's son Henry III. 24th
March, in the thirteenth year of his reign (1229) : —
We have granted, &c, that our town of Liverpool shall be a free
borough for ever, and that the burgesses of the same borough may have
a guild merchant, with a hanse 68 and other liberties and free customs to
that guild pertaining ; and that no one that shall not be of that guild
shall traffic in any merchandise unless by the consent of the same bur-
gesses. Also we have granted to the same burgesses and their heirs,
that they may have soc and sac and toll and theam, and infangethef;
and that they shall be quit throughout our whole realm, and throughout
all the ports of the sea, of toll, lastage, passage, pontage, and stallage ;
and that they shall do no suit of county courts or wapentake courts, for
their tenures, which they hold within the borough aforesaid. Also we
have granted to the same burgesses, &c., that whatsoever merchants
shall come to the borough with their merchandises, of whatsoever place
they may be, whether foreigners or others, who shall be in our peace,
or who shall come into o'lr realm by our license, may safely and securely
88 Hanse (an old Gothic word) denotes a society or confederation of merchants for
the good usage and safe passage of merchandise from one kingdom to another. The
Hanse merchants had four principal seats or staples, with a house ; that in London
was named the Steel Yard. — (Jacob.)
Chip. XII]
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS.
199
come to our said borough with their merchandises, and there nl
dwell, and thence safely depart, rendering therefore the right of due
customs. Also we forbid that any one shall do injury, damage, or
grievance to the said burgMae*, upon forfeiture to us of 10L Where-
fore we will and firmly command that the aforesaid town of Liverpool
oe a free borough, and that the said burg oaaw may have the aforesaid
guild merchant, with a hanse, ami other liberties and free customs to
that guild pertaining; and that they may have rill other liberties and
i id acquittances, as is aforesaid.
SALFORD, — Borough,— 1230-31,
Randle Blundevillc, earl of Chester, was created earl of Lincoln
by Henry HI. in 1217, and his dateless charter to Salford, in
which he sets forth his title of earl of Lincoln, must have been
in or subsequent to that year. The first witness to this charter,
Sir William [de Vernon], justice of Chester, only held that office
about two years, 1230-31, being succeeded in the latter year by
Richard Fitton. In all probability, therefore, the charter was
granted in the year 1230, or early in 1231* The original docu-
ment is still preserved amongst the archives of the borough, in a
chest having three separate locks, the keys of which are kept by
the mayor and two other functionaries, so that the chest cannot be
opened without bringing the three together, A copy (Latin) is
printed in Baincs's Lancashire (vol. ii. p. 170), but it has been
carelessly and inaccurately copied, and four of the witnesses'
names are omitted. A translation of the charter was made by
Mr, Thomas Pert, and printed for private circulation in 1848; but
this also contains many errors; and it is therefore desirable to
print a translation as literally accurate as possible, after collation
not only with the original, but also with a copy (Latin) which is
more legible, and which is now in the Feel Park Museum, Salford.
The granting clauses have been numbered for convenience of
reference : —
200 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XII.
Handle, earl of Chester and Lincoln, to all present and to come, who
shall inspect or hear this present charter, greeting.
i. Know ye me to have given and granted, and by this my present
charter to have confirmed, that the town [villa] of Salford may be a free
borough, and that the burgesses dwelling therein may have and hold all
these liberties underwritten.
2. First, that each burgess may have one acre of land to his burgage,
and he shall pay for such his burgage by the year twelve pence, for all
services which to that burgage belong.
3. [The word " Also" at the beginning of each clause is omitted.] If
the reeve of the town [or borough-reeve] shall challenge any burgess
on any plea, and the challenged come not on the day, nor any one for
him, within the Laghe-mote, 63 he is in my forfeiture twelve pence.
4. If any burgess implead another burgess for any debt, and he shall
acknowledge the debt, the reeve may appoint a day for him [to pay] to
wit, the eighth, and if he come not on the day, he shall pay to me
twelve pence as forfeiture of the day, and he shall pay the debt, and to
the reeve four pence.
5. If any burgess, within the borough, through anger, shall strike or
beat any burgess, without bloodshed, by view of the burgesses he shall
make peace with him, saving my right, to wit, twelve pence.
6. If any one shall be impleaded in the borough of any plea, he need
not answer, neither to burgess or villein, or any other, unless in his
Portemote, to wit, to a plea which pertains to the borough.
7. If any burgess or other accuse [appellat] any burgess of theft, the
reeve shall attach him to answer, and to abide [stare] judgment in the
Portemote, saving my right.
8. If any one shall be impleaded of his neighbour, or of any other, of
anything that belongeth to the borough, and he shall make suit [secutus
fuerit] three days, if he have witnesses of the reeve and of his neigh-
bours that his adversary made default on those three days, he shall
after that give no man answer of that plea, and the other shall fall into
mercy [mUericordia],
Laghmote, i.e. law-meeting or court, was one of the ancient law-courts, and
possibly its older form was Lagh-Halmote, the hall or manor mote for recapitulating
their manorial laws ; such court being held in London twice a year. — (See JAber
Atom.)
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS.
201
Crap. XIL1
9. No burgess ought to bake bread to be sold, save at my oven, by
reasonable custom.
10. If I shall have a mill there, the burgesses shall grind nt my mill,
to the twentieth vessel [or measure] \ and if I shall not have a mill
there, they may grind where they will.
11. T j Id burgesses may choose a reeve of themselves, whom
will, and remove him at the end of the year.
12. Any of the burgesses may give, pledge [or mortgage, impigtwrare]
or sell his burgage to whomsoever he will, unless his heir will buy it j
but his heir shall he nearest to buy it, saving my service ; but so that
it shall not be sold into religion [fa. mortmain],
113. The burgesses may arrest their debtors for their debts in the
borough, if the debtor acknowledge bis debt, unless they be tenants of
trough.
14. The chattels of burgesses ought not be seized [twmare] for the
ie but themselves.
15. The aforesaid burgesses and all of whomsoever they may buy or
sell, wheresoever it may be within my demesnes [or lordship] whether
in fairs or in markets, shall be quit of toll, wring tin- toll of *alt
16. Whosoever shall break the assise, whether of bread Off of ale,
yhall remain in forfeiture of twelve penee Btt three times, and the fourth
time be shall make [or do] the assise of t he town, 64
17. The same burgesses shall have common free pasture, in wood and
in plain, in all pastures belonging to the town of Sal ford. And tln-v
shall be quit of pannage id that wood of the town of Salford.
18. The aforesaid burgesses may reasonably take from the afor
wood all that is necessary to build [with] and to burn.
19. Any one may be at plea [i.e. may answer a plea] for his wife and
his family ; and the wife of any one may pay his farm [or rent] to the
reeve, doing what he ought to do, and follow the plea for her husband,
if he should perchance be elsewhere.
20. A burgess, if he shall have no heir, may leave his burgage and
his chattels, when he dies; to whomsoever he pleasetb j saving, however,
my right, to wit, four pence, and saving the service that to that bur
bdongeth; so that the burgage, however, be not alienated in religion.
rhi* last dUrat* is obscure ; but it probably means that be ehall Biiflvr lha
puuisboiont usual in the town for assise -breach, vii,, the pillory or the tumbroh
I*
202 MAMECESTRE. [Chap. XII.
21. When a burgess dieth, his wife may remain in the house with
the heir, and there may have necessaries so long as she remain without
a husband ; and whenever she will marry, she may depart without
dower, and the heir as lord [or master] shall remain in the house.
22. When a burgess dieth, his heir shall give no other relief to me
than these arms, to wit, a sword, or a bow [and arrows] or a lance [or
spear].
23. No one within the wapentake of Salford, as a shoemaker, a fell
or pelt-monger [pelliparius'], a fuller, or any other such, shall use his
office [follow his business] unless it be within the borough, saving the
liberties of the barony.
24. The aforesaid burgesses shall pay their rent for their burgages at
the four yearly terms, namely, at the Nativity of the Lord [Christmas]
three pence ; at Mid-Lent [ad mediant xl™*] three pence ; at the feast of
[the nativity of] St. John the Baptist three pence ; and at the feast of
St. Michael three pence.
25. All the aforesaid pleas shall be determined before the bailiffs of
the lord the earl, by view of the burgesses.
26. Whosoever shall desire to sell his burgage, save into religion,
and to depart from the town, shall give me fourpence, and shall go
freely whithersoever he will, with all his chattels.
27. I the same Handle and my heirs will warrant all the aforesaid
liberties and customs, to the foresaid burgesses and their heirs, against
all people for ever ; saving to me and to my heirs reasonable talliage,
when the lord the king shall cause to be tolled [or tallaged] his boroughs
throughout England.
In memory of which matter to this present page I have set my
seal. These being witnesses : — Sir William, justice of Chester ; Simon
de Montfort ; Paganus [or Payne] de Chauros: [? Choresworth] ; Fulke
Fitz-Warine; Gilbert de Seagrave; Walter de Arden; Bichard de
Benin [Byron] ; Boger Gernet ; Boger de Derby ; Geoffrey de Bury ;
Hugh de Bury ; j8imon and John, clerks ; and many others. 86
w As to the witnesses, we have already notioed the first, Sir William de Vernon,
and need only add that he was a Lancashire knight, and was at the head of a body of
archers in the 5 John (1203-4). He was attached to the service of William, Earl
Ferrers, under whom he held lands in the counties of Nottingham and Derby. He
(UAL XII. 1
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS.
208
AYIGAN. — Borough. — la
By one of the Banastres, early barons of Newton, the manor of
Wigan was conferred upon the rector and his successors, who
also had possessions in Lancashire and other counties, and in [219 be was appointed
one of the justices itinerant for the northern counties j and he was such an officer for
the counties of Nottingham and Derby in 1215. — Simon de Montfort was the great
man of that name, the second and youngest son of Simon, count de Montfort in
France, who was so conspicuous in conducting some of the barbarous crusades
against the Albigcnses, The father (having married Amicia, sister and co-heir of
Robert Pita-Parnell, earl of Leicester) was created earl of Leicester by King John ;
but was subsequently banished the kingdom, entered into the service of France, and
died in 1217, Simon, his second son, was for a time in favour with Henry III-, who
(with the consent of Almaric, the older brother) in 1236 confirmed him, in right of
hia mother, in the earldom of Leicester, which had, with his father's confiscated
lands, been given by John to Handle, earl of Chester. These facts show that when
he signed the Salford charter, thirteen years after the death of hia father, he had not
recovered his earldom, or even received the honour of knighthood. It is stated that
he was little known in England until j 238, when he married a sister of the king's,
Eleanor, countess dowager of Pembroke, Simon soon distinguished himself as the
firm opponont of all foreign favourites nnd encroachments ; was in consequence
banished the court ; became the great leader of the English barons in resisting the
king's violations of Magna Carta, fought against the tyrant with various fortune, and
finally, after the defeat of his son Simon at Kenilwortb, perished with his son Henry
at the buttle of Evesham on the 4th August 1265, He was a skilful politician, a
master of the art of war, possessed great literary acquirements, and was a devout
man, a patriot, and an idol of the people, — Paganus do Chauros, or Payne de Chores*
worth, we have not been able to trace, Probably he was the bolder of the messuage
and sixty acres of land in Pendlebury, called " Sch ores worth." Some read the abbre-
viated surname lk Chaurt/' which may mean Chaderton or Chorleton j but we have
found no Paganus or Payne of either locality, — Pulke Fitz-Warine is stated to havo
boon a Shropshire baron, and he was probably at tbe court of the great earl of
> render his homage. He was slain at the battle of Lowes, May 14, 1264, —
Gilbert de Segrave was the second aon of Stephen de Segrave (justice of Chester in
1*3^—37) by Rohese, daughter of Thomas la Despenser; but his elder brother John,
dying in his father's life- tune, ho succeeded to the property on his father's decease in
1241. He married Amabilia, daughter of Robert do Chaucomh, and in the 15 II
III. (1230-31) had a grant from Simon de Montfort, lord of Leicester, of the town
of Kegwortb, Leicestershire, In tho III. (1241-42) the year following his
father's death, be was made justice of the forests south of Tr< <vernor of
Keuil worth Castle; was raised to the bench at Westminster in i25i> and was one
of the justiciers appointed to hear such pleas of the city of London as were wont to
204 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. XII.
still enjoy the manorial privileges of the borough. This gift was
confirmed by two royal charters in the reign of Henry III. The
first of these charters, dated in the thirtieth year (1245-46),
grants and confirms the former grant to John Maunsell, parson of
the church of Wigan. 66 It grants further that his town of Wigan
shall be'a borough for ever, and that the burgesses shall have a
guild-merchant, with a hanse, and all the liberties and free
customs to such guild belonging. The burgesses shall also have sac
be determined by the justices itinerant. In 1254 he was sent on a mission into Gas-
cony, in returning from which, with John de Plessetis, earl of Warwick, and other
nobles, in spite of the king of France's letters of safe conduct, they were seized and
imprisoned at Pontes, a city of Poictou. Though ultimately released, his sufferings
there brought on his death towards the dose of that year, when his lands, as usual,
were seized into the king's hands. — (Foss's Judges of England, rol. ii. p. 466.) —
Walter de Arden we do not find, but the abbreviation may be "Walker"; and there
was a Sir Walkelyne de Arderne knight, justicier of Chester in 1236, who married
Agnes, daughter of Philip de Orreby, and died about 1265. — Richard de Benin or
Syron, was either the second son of the Robert, who married the heiress of Clayton,
which Richard was lord of Cadenay j or the Sir Richard, lord of Cadenay and Clayton,
who had grant of free warren in his Lancashire demesnes in June 1308, represented
Lancashire in parliament, and died before 1347. — Sir Roger de Gernet of Halton 00.
Lane, was the male representative of a Norman family ; being the younger son of
Vivian Gernet, and brother and heir of William Gernet. He was hereditary forester
of Lancashire in fee, and held by serjeanty, in right of that office (partly from the
crown, and partly from the house of Lancaster) a forge within the forest, the lands
and advowson of Ilalton, lands in Lee, Burgh and Fishwic, a fishery in the Kibble
there ; the advowson of Preston, and lands in Eocleston and Whiston, and paramount
rights in Speke. (See inq. p.m. 36 Henry III. 125 1-2). He married Quenilda,
fourth daughter of Thurstan Banastre, under grant from the earl palatine of Chester,
of whom she was military tenant ; but as she also held lands of the king, he caused
Sir Roger Gernet's lands to be seized on the marriage (Test, de Nevill, p. 401). On
certificate of the husband's services to King John, made by the earl of Chester, the
estates were restored. Sir Roger left no issue by Quenilda, but he left a son by
another marriage, Benedict Gernet ; and Jane, sister of a Benedict Gernet, after-
wards carried the estates into the Daore family. — (Ormerod's Miscell. Palat.) — The
other witnesses are men of less mark, and not easily identified at this long interval of
time. Those we have noticed show with what almost regal state the ancient earls of
Chester were surrounded by men of high rank, large possessions, and of grave, judicial
and other offices and functions.
• The provost of Beverley, already noticed, note 6 p. 92.
Chap. XIL]
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS
205
and soc t toll and them, attachments within the borough, infange-
thef and utfangethef, and quittance from toll, lastagc, pontage,
passage, and stallage, over land and at all sea ports. Also freedom
from suit and service to the county or the wapentake for their
lands in the borough. Merchants, strangers and others, ou
paying the customary dues, to have freedom to pass into the
borough with their merchandise, safely there remain the limited
period, and safely thence return. The same king, in the forty-
third year of his reign (1258-59) by a second charter confirms to
John Maunsell, parson of Wigan, and his successors for ever, a
weekly market every Monday at their borough of Wigan, and two
yearly fairs [together] of six days 1 duration, viz., one on the eve,
day and morrow of the Ascension (Thursday in Rogation week) ;
and the other on the eve, day and morrow of All Saints (Novem-
ber 2), It should be added that in this case the barons of Newton
retained the advowson of the church of Wigan in their hands.
In further illustration of the forma of charters grauting muni-
cipal liberties, we may refer to two north Cheshire boroughs : —
Stockport. — Sir Robert de Stokeport, who was mesne lord of
JStotkport under the family of Despencer, during the northern earldom,
granted a charter to his burgesses of Stockport, that it should be " a
free borough ;" that each burgess might have a perch of land to his
house, and an acre to his field, arid should pay for each burgage i2tl»
yearly for all the farms to it belonging. — (Qrmerod's Cht\shin\ vol. iti.
p- 385)
Macclesfielo. — Eandle de Blundeville, the third ear! of Chester
of that Christian name, granted to his burgesses of Macclesfield that it
should he " a free borough." He also willed that it alio id d consist of
one hundred and twenty burgages, for each of which 1 2d. yearly was
paid to the earl. In the 45 Edward III. (137 1) Prince Edward, as
earl of Chester, granted various privileges to the burgesses of Maccles-
field, with all liberties and free customs to the same belonging. And
Edward III, granted " to our burgesses of Macclesfield that our vill of
Macclesfield may be a free borough, and that our burgesses there may
206 MAMECE8TRE. [Chap. XII.
have a guild mercatory in the same borough, with all liberties and free
customs to that guild belonging, and that they may be quit through all
Cheshire, as well by water as land, of toll, passage, pontage, stallage,
lastage, and all other customs (except of salt in the wyches), and that
they may have pasture and housbote and haybote in our forest," &c. —
(Ormerod's Cheshire, vol. iii. p. 365.)
Enough has been cited from the earlier charters of neighbouring
places to give a general idea of the nature of these grants, and
what privileges and immunities they conferred on the burgesses,
or freeholders of burgage tenements. It is somewhat remarkable
that of the six Lancashire places, no two can be classed in the
same category. Omitting farther consideration of the four royal
parliamentary boroughs as such — Preston, Liverpool, Lancaster
and Wigan — we may state that in municipal character, Preston
was a royal free borough, with a guild-merchant, still maintained,
and governed by a mayor. Clithero was at first only a baronial
borough, afterwards confirmed in its privileges by royal charters,
and those privileges the largest of any Lancashire inland borough,
being those of the then capital city of Chester. But Clithero was
governed by a reeve, and from having no navigable river, could
enjoy only a small portion of these extensive privileges. Lancaster
was first chartered by an earl, then by a king, in the same person,
John earl of Morton or Montaigne and king of England, — and it
had in succession the privileges of two important places granted
to it — Bristol and Northampton. It was a royal free borough,
governed by a mayor. Liverpool was a royal free borough on the
sea, with all the extensive privileges of the other ancient seaports,
as London, Bristol, &c. It was governed by a mayor. Salford,
though within the royal hundred or wapentake of that name, was
chartered by its lord the earl of Chester, as a free borough, and
governed by a reeve. Wigan is a manor, held not hereditarily,
bnt by the rector for the time being in succession ; and to one
rector a king granted that it shonld be a borough, with a guild-
merchant and hanse, &c. Stockport and Macclesfield were both
Chap. XII.]
LANCASHIRE TOWN CHARTERS.
207
baronial boroughs, styled in their charters " free boroughs," but
in all cases where the baronial charter is not subsequently con-
firmed by a royal charter, it is very doubtful whether these places
were really raised to the dignity of boroughs, or whether they
were legally more than market towns. This will be seen more
fully when we come to examine the inquisition at Preston in 1359,
as to whether Mamecestre really had the privileges of a borough
town, or only those of a market town.
End of Vol. I.
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